EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn told RFE/RL on April 12 that Ivanov’s announcement “is something which, in my understanding, is not acceptable” and not in line with the rule of law. They have brought so many charges against each other so that now the politicians from opposite sides of the spectrum are prepared to use all possible means in order not to be defeated in the coming elections, because they dont know how far the other side is prepared to go and delve further into personal confrontation, retaliation, hatred and xenophobia, Ivanov said in his address to the nation.
Advertisement
The European Union’s foreign-policy arm said the halting of criminal proceedings against politicians involved in the scandal raised “serious concerns”.
Protesters in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia surrounded the headquarters of the ruling party in Skopje, furious at the decision to drop all inquiries into allegations of widespread government spying.
Socialist opposition leader Zoran Zaev, who also attended the rally, called on the President to step down, adding his decision is tantamount to a “coup d’etat”. VMRO-DPMNE say that they have taken the decision with shock and disbelief.
Last year Zaev’s Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) accused then prime minister Nikola Gruevski of wiretapping around 20,000 people, including politicians and journalists, and said the recordings revealed high-level corruption.
The EU expressed alarm at the president’s move.
Despite the protest and the disappointment of the global community, Macedonian President, George Ivanov won’t change his decision to acquit all sentenced and investigated politicians, a move that was seen as an attack against the Special Prosecutor. “We have no doubt in his honest and good intentions”, it said in a statement.
Gruevski, an ally of President Ivanov, became the focus of a special prosecution investigation, along with the former interior minister and ex-intelligence chief.
In an effort to resolve the crisis, the main political parties signed a European-brokered deal last June agreeing to early elections, set for June 5.
“If he does not do it, he will lead the country to the brink”, said Zaev.
Advertisement
The opposition is also demanding that the country’s electoral lists – which are purported to be out of date and allow for vote rigging by the government – be reviewed and cleaned up ahead of any new elections.
