Macedonian magazine Republika did a mega interview in various parts with opposition leader and VMRO-DPMNE president Nikola Gruevski. In the first part of the interview, you will read about the name dispute, NATO membership, the attitude of the Macedonian government, as to whether the identity goes with the name change package that the government is pushing, who can stop this. Read about this and much more in the first part of the interview...
What is happening with the VMRO-DPMNE after the elections?
GRUEVSKI: As we announced after the local elections we are committed to making an analysis.
The analysis involves more party structures. Beside the Secretary General and a few others from the leadership, municipal committees and mayoral candidates are also involved in this analysis. Within the municipal committees there are also representatives of the party’s local committees.
We are collecting opinions also from external figures and analysts, and of course from some of the members of the party who are not active in the local and municipal committees, but are part of our 170 thousand membership. We also have a lot of informal talks in the leadership about the past and future period of the party’s activities.
What is the goal of this activity?
GRUEVSKI: The goal is clear. To delve into the entire period behind us, to identify the weaknesses and correct them in the future. And of course, to identify positive steps for further use. This from every aspect, organizational and personnel, as well as political.
Everyone has their own point of view, and it is good to review and rediscuss things within the party organs. It will all end up for consideration and approval by the highest party organs.
The party had 10 consecutive victories in a period of 12 years. Recently we suffered a defeat, and a serious analysis is needed.
After the defeat in the first round, in an interview you said that some of the reasons for the defeat were due to a number of irregularities, pressures, threats, blackmail, and a lot of bribes. Later, as a result of this, you did not recognize the elections.
GRUEVSKI: Yes, I said that the initial analysis goes in the direction that some of our voters punished us because they had the perception that we abandoned some traditional policies, and some did not vote because of many pressures, threats, blackmail and intimidation.
There was bribery during the election process as never before. How can we recognize such elections? If we do recognize the elections the main message we be to continue this way in the next ones as well.
But the international community recognized the elections …
GRUEVSKI: Yes, just like in the 2004 presidential elections, when we had a classic and brutal ballot stuffing, we are now living in a period when the international community wants to see stabilization of the political life in the country and further steps, back then through the form of implementation of the Framework Agreement, and today through the form of changing the name for the purpose of joining NATO, it wanted and wants to see a strong government, a victorious government, an encouraging government, with a weakened opposition to be dealt with alone by itself, or with other words a peaceful sea for the government to deliver on its promises to them.
In fact, SDSM was aware of this and that is why it used so much aggression, threats and bribes in the elections. They were aware that as a party that promised to redefine the country, where the primary job is the name change, the agreement with Bulgaria which is harmful for us Macedonians, the unconstitutional law on the use of languages, the readiness to accept migrants in the future, etc., they will have tolerance for everything, including conducting of such African-like elections.
We will return to the elections, how do you see the name resolution and NATO membership?
GRUEVSKI: These are two essential things for us. NATO membership is something that topped our priorities while we were in power, and now. It is very important for Macedonia to become part of the NATO Alliance and the EU. It has never been disputed. In 2008, before the Bucharest Summit, we met all the requirements for NATO membership, and a year later to start negotiations on full-fledged membership in the Union, which was publicly announced by them. However, the obstacle to the realization of this aspiration was our name and identity.
You say identity?
GRUEVSKI: Yes, the name is part of the identity, and the intention is for the identity to follow the fate of the name, in one way or another.
What does “in one way or another” mean?
GRUEVSKI: Greece does not accept to have an agreement that we would have passed in their Parliament, in which our language and nationality would be written in English as “Macedonian”. It means that it is not ready to accept our identity, and it seeks, and will seek, other forms for that not to happen. One of the forms is that the agreement does not treat identity at all through the form of the name, the language, and the nation.
That should cause us joy, or to say that we did not change the identity, but in reality it will not be so, because Greece will not allow our language or nation to be referred to as Macedonian in any of the international political institutions. Now, that would not be a problem for the new government.
Why, what has changed with the new government?
GRUEVSKI: A lot has changed. Greece, as well as the rest of the world, know that this is a puppet government, which has been brought and not elected by the people, in order to give in to this issue, and to make a full redefinition of the country. To satisfy everyone other than their own people. And when you know the position of the negotiator on the other side, you will surely seek for more.
In fact, if Greece ever had a 100 percent negotiation package, it was perhaps willing to make concession up to 10 percent, now it will not even make a concession of 5 percent, maybe zero. We wanted to resolve the issue with a compromise, which implied significant concession from both sides. They want to solve it in their favor almost completely. That’s why our efforts failed. I am afraid that the new puppet government in Macedonia will accept this position of our neighbor, as it did with the agreement with Bulgaria. In addition to unblocking the NATO and EU membership process, from the very agreement, it will mostly, as a result of the negotiations, sell us some minor and unimportant details as some great success.
This means that if our side gives in, the issue will be resolved quickly?
GRUEVSKI: Probably yes. Because there are theories that have a larger geopolitical background, that even if Macedonia gives in, some structures in Greece will try to prevent to solve the issue due to other larger geopolitical interests. However, it will be extremely difficult for them to explain it, and it is more likely that if the Macedonian puppet government gives in, the issue will be settled.
But what about the people, the opposition?
GRUEVSKI: Their plan is to resolve that through intimidation, pressure, arrests and bribes. It seems they have the green light from external factors to do whatever they want, if it is in order to yield over the name.
The people feel that. This is a high policy and geopolitics, not pursuing justice. The plan is people to rot in prisons and prisons, to not leave the courtrooms, to be framed, judges to judge without evidence as they will be told, the media to justify it all.
People, families, parties and everything in the way of this puppet government will be destroyed and denigrated. Only to achieve the great geostrategic goal, which, for the irony to be greater, is not disputable for us in VMRO-DPMNE, and on the contrary it is at least the same, and more desirable than in SDSM, here I am referring to NATO membership, only the difference is that we want a more prudent agreement in terms of the dispute with our southern neighbor.
SDSM and their supporters from all walks of life will like it, they will rejoice, take credit for successes and triumphs, fly in the clouds as they already have, live with some self-satisfying feeling, and they are not aware that “the wheel turns” and everything is changing and transitory, also among us some thought that VMRO would be in power forever and deceived themselves without thinking of tomorrow, that one day things will turn in the opposite direction against them, but also against those who will participate and help their dirty game.
Unfortunately, no matter how much they intimidate and silence, arrest or bribe, the conflict in the Macedonian society will grow, as much as someone tries to suppress and kill it by exposing fear. The circle of revenge will not stop, on the contrary. In the heat of the upcoming redefinition of the country to destroy the political opponent or the those with different opinion, and in all the unreasonable steps that we already have, a new situation is created for new episodes of mutual conflict, revenge, retaliation and returns.
The most tragic is that international community representatives change every three or four years, and we should stay and live here for a lifetime.
Is there a way to stop this?
GRUEVSKI: Only the people is the one who can change things. But we have seen that recently in the local elections, a significant number of people were scared, manipulated, pressed, blackmailed, intimidated. Some bribed as well. The negative propaganda that has been going on for more than three years is taking over people too.
The strategy was to show us as dishonest, to invent allegations, persecute us in order to realize the set goal. Basically, if you look around the world, it is a practice in many places when there is a geostrategic goal, and when someone stops on the road for one reason or another. If one is capable and works for his own country, or they will come up with lies that he has not respected the law with something, and he has committed a crime, or they will invent him a sexual affair, or something like that. And he should be happy to be alive.
And if they do not have evidence they will try to invent, such as making illegal videos as evidence. If that’s not enough, they will adopt new laws for witness protection, and what not, just to accuse you with fabricated evidence.
End of the first part of Republika’s mega interview with VMRO-DPMNE leader Nikola Gruevski
