Timeline: news digest by CIVIL (June 16, 2016)

News digest of main events for Republic of Macedonia (June 16, 2016): Constitutional Court does not schedule session for the SPO || SDSM asks who is the godfather of the new borrowing? || There is no spin or hate speech that can hide the truth! || Empty ambulance vehicles abused for discrediting the Colorful Revolution! || Yesterday there was progress, today stagnation – negotiations at a standstill || SPO: Judge has overstepped authorities || Minister of Justice meets with strikers of judicial administration, but does not say when and how he will fulfil the demands

Constitutional Court does not schedule session for the SPO

The Constitutional Court will not debate on the initiative for assessing the constitutionality of the Law on the Special Public Prosecutor’s Office at its next session scheduled for Wednesday.  Several other initiatives have been placed on the agenda that the Constitutional Court published, including the Law on protecting the population from contagious diseases, the Law on amending the Law on drugs and medical aids, along with regulations for heat supply, but has no explanation to why the initiative for the constitutionality of the SPO is not on the agenda.

SDSM asks who is the godfather of the new borrowing?

Scandalous, the pace with which the country has been borrowing under the command of Nikola Gruevski has continued even while the Ministry of Finance has no minister.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Finance published leaflets on a state securities auction, which means new borrowing on the domestic market! On whose behalf, and with whose signature and approval has the Ministry of Finance published the information on the new auction scheduled for June 21, 2016?

Former Minister of Finance, Zoran Stavrevski gave his resignation on June 14, 2016, while the new candidate for minister was still not officially appointed in the Assembly of Republic of Macedonia when the auction was announced.

Since Gruevski’s godfather – Stavrevski has resigned, it is Gruevski who should explain to the citizens who the “godfather” of the new borrowing is.

There is no spin or hate speech that can hide the truth!

Yesterday’s guerrilla action of some of activists, who handed out chocolates to the Colorful Revolution protestors with the message “We are crazy”, and were paraphrasing the famous “statement” of Zoran Stavrevski: “We don’t have money for bread, but we are eating chocolates!”, were immediately attacked with hate speech and insults by the pawns of those in power, distributed throughout the media and social networks.

“We are crazy!” is a quote of a statement given by Stavrevski, and not a slogan with which CIVIL – Center for Freedom accuses mentally ill people?! Stavrevski’s statement will be remembered in the history of this country, and there is no spin, nor hate speech that can erase it. There is nothing that can hide the truth about the heavy abuse, crime, violence and theft. And all those who distort the truth and spin in the dirtiest way possible will also be remembered, who hide behind the “online gangs”, who have been engaged by party chiefs. They will be remembered as an example of how a person should not behave and how the social networks should not be abused, and even more, for how the profession should not be abused for demonstrating humility and obedience to suspects of non-felonies.

Empty ambulance vehicles abused for discrediting the Colorful Revolution!

Today, empty ambulance vehicles deliberately went through the blockade of the Colorful Revolution in the traffic on the “Goce Delcev” Bridge. And twice…

The protestors allowed the vehicle to pass through the first time. However, at the same time, a team of the weekly magazine “Republika” came to take photos of the event, which was booed by the protestors, yelling “Hello chief!”. Shortly after that, the same ambulance vehicle came back from the same direction it came from wanting to pass through again! After discovering the obvious attempt to deceive the public, the protestors opened the door of the vehicle, urging photographers who were there to take photos to show that there is no one inside and that it is just a matter of provocation.

Yesterday there was progress, today stagnation – negotiations at a standstill

Yesterday there was progress, today there is stagnation. The Przino Negotiations have been stopped. The political parties have demanded additional consultations following the disagreement over the clearing of the Voters Register. Following the brief meeting, EU Ambassador Aivo Orav, said to the parties that they do not have time for waiting: “We are done for today. The parties need more time for consultations within their framework and the SEC. Time is money. EU is always available for further negotiations”.

SDSM accused VMRO DPMNE of avoiding fair and regular elections. The negotiations ended unsuccessfully because the party representatives, signatories to the Przino Agreement, were unable to agree on the Voters Register, on how to deal with the 330.000 controversial voters and on how to regulate the media sphere.

US Ambassador Jess Baily said that international representatives are working intensively on the implementation of the Przino Agreement.

SPO: Judge has overstepped authorities

While the SPO made an appeal demanding the Criminal Court to return Goran Grujovski in detention, the first suspect in the “Fortress” case, Minister Mitko Cakov is waiting for the suspended chief of the Fifth Department to return from sick leave, and for the legal team of the MOI to decide whether Grujovski, who is suspected of destroying the surveillance equipment, can return to the head position of the Administration for Security and Counter Intelligence.

The Special Prosecution has already appealed the decisions made by judge Aleksandra Pop Stefanija, who assessed that “Fortress” is not under the competence of the SPO. The team of Katica Janeva claims that the court decision has essential violations to the law. At the end of March, the Court had decided to send Grujovski in custody, but following the abolition, the SPO renewed the request, whereby the court assessed that the “Fortress” case is not linked to and does not stem from illegal surveillance of communications. The SPO also appealed the court decision in regards to the assessment of incompetence to reject the demands for confiscation of the passports of the remaining four suspects in the “Fortress” case, Toni Jakimovski, Gordana Jankulovska, Nikola Boskovski and Valentina Simonovska, with an argument that the court has made legal violations.

Minister of Justice meets with strikers of judicial administration, but does not say when and how he will fulfil the demands

Members of the Union of UPOZ and of the Association of the Court Administration finally met together with Minister of Justice Valdet Xhaferi. At the meeting, Xhaferi admitted that the demands of the judicial administration for having same salary supplements with those of their colleagues from the prosecution are justified, but did not promise any terms for when and how those demands would be realized in practice.

Justice has knocked on the door of the main “Transporter”

Basic Court Skopje 1 today orders 30 days of house arrest for the Mayor of Bitola Vladimir Taleski.

According to the announcement, the Court imposed this measure, changing the decision of the pre-trial judge, upon the proposal of the SPO for determining detention measures for the suspected mayor in the “Transporter” case.

The Court rejected as unfounded the appeal of the Special Prosecutor’s office for tackling crimes related to the materials from the illegal surveillance of communication from the 14 of this month, as well as the appeal of the suspected. Talevski’s custody will start from the moment he is found and arrested, in accordance with article 165, Item 1, 2 and 3 from the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Bitola Police will supervise the house arrest.