The original article in Russian on our website is at the following link: Эксперт: через четыре года Северной Македонии может уже не быть
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Skopje, 17 August 2020, 20:22 – REGNUM It came as no surprise to anyone in Macedonia that current President Stevo Pendarovski handed over the mandate to form a new government to former Prime Minister Zoran Zaev. Macedonian journalist and TV presenter Milenko Nedelkovski told IA REGNUM about this.
Let us remind you that on August 12 in the evening, the administration of the President of North Macedonia announced that the mandate to form the government of North Macedonia would be transferred to the head of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDU) Zoran Zaev. Later, Pendarovski stressed that Zaev would be forced to return the post if he did not receive the support of the parliamentary majority (61 votes out of 120) within 20 days. To secure a parliamentary majority, Zaev needs to enlist the support of at least 15 Albanian deputies.
“In fact, everything that happens in Macedonia goes not only beyond the constitution, but also outside the framework of international law. So, the president, who, by the way, was elected bypassing the constitution, handed over the mandate to form a government to Zaev. At the moment, Zaev does not have the support in the parliament that will ensure stability for his government. Nevertheless, he will form it, and he will rule the country, which, in turn, is very bad news for my compatriots,” Nedelkovski said.
According to the expert, the news that the new government will be headed by the old Prime Minister Zoran Zaev is bad for the Macedonians, among other things, because he was nominated by the US embassy, not the president.
Nedelkovski reminded that this is not the only example of blatant interference of the US diplomatic mission in the internal politics of North Macedonia in recent years. So, recently the court of first instance passed a sentence to the former chairman of the Criminal Court, Vladimir Panchevski, and sentenced him to three and a half years in prison. “As president of the court, Panchevski refused to work under American orders. He did not want the United States to dictate to him who should be condemned and who should not. After he was dismissed from his post, he was presented with completely unfounded charges, and now the court of first instance sentenced him to three and a half years,” said the Macedonian journalist, recalling that according to Macedonian law, the sentence is considered final only after the decision of the court of second instance. Nevertheless, Nedelkovski continued, US Ambassador to Macedonia Kate Byrnes was quick to congratulate the Macedonian court on the “right decision.”
“In my opinion, this is a direct interference in the work of the Macedonian justice system and pressure on the court of second instance. But the American diplomats did not stop there. Just two hours after President Pendarovski handed over the mandate to Zaev, the US Embassy congratulated the former-future prime minister on this event. A politician can be congratulated if he won the elections, if he formed a government, but what is the point of congratulating him on the fact that he received a mandate to form a cabinet of ministers? Byrnes with this gesture signaled to all parties in parliament that they should show solidarity with Zaev, since he is supported by the United States. Now every Albanian party in parliament will take this into account. In Macedonia, it is not the president of the country who chooses whom to entrust the formation of the government, but the US ambassador,” Nedelkovski said.
The journalist recalled that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited North Macedonia last year. Then he said that Macedonia should be extremely careful and not allow Russian interference in domestic politics, as well as not feast on Chinese investments, Nedelkovski added.
“In fact, Pompeo said that we should not be subject to foreign interference. But, obviously, this does not apply to the United States, which shamelessly interferes in Macedonian internal politics,” the expert said.
According to the expert, just a few days ago one of the largest banks in the country went bankrupt and “took” 70 million euros with it. “At the moment, his clients, of whom there were a lot, cannot receive salaries and pensions, cannot pay bills. The economy is in huge debts, we do not know if there will be money to pay salaries to teachers, doctors… The previous government of Zoran Zaev, according to various sources, borrowed from two to four billion euros, which is a lot of money for our country. Now this same government is able to continue to act in the same direction. This is very bad news for my state,” says Nedelkovski.
The journalist added that many objective Macedonian analysts fear that in four years, when the new government expires, North Macedonia will no longer exist in its original form.
“The state does not function – the sky is controlled by Greek planes, Albanian business and the population do not pay taxes, but they enjoy all the benefits and receive pensions. The construction of the Niš – Bela Palanka – Sofia – Thessaloniki road will redirect the transportation of goods bypassing Macedonia. The gas pipeline, which is being built from Russia through Bulgaria, has also bypassed us. We have no access to the sea, we produce less electricity than we consume… Considering the upcoming resolution of the Kosovo issue, the actualization of the issue of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, I do not exclude the future redistribution of borders in the Balkans. It seems to me that Macedonia is the weakest link in this chain, and with Zoran Zaev as prime minister, it will become a bargaining chip,” Milenko Nedelkovski summed up.
Details: https://regnum.ru/news/polit/3038821.html
Any use of materials is allowed only with a hyperlink to IA REGNUM.