In the 50-minute speech in Parliament among MPs and from the government and the main opposition party – VMRO-DPMNE, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, heads of state institutions, heads of religious organizations and foreign diplomats, President Gjorge Ivanov, called for a ceasefire. He said an and for political revanchism and especially highlighted hate speech and its participation in the political crisis.
At the same time, the Macedonian President urged for urgent reforms in UBK, as the generator of the crisis, and welcomed the agreement on good neighborly relations with Bulgaria and the efforts of the Macedonian government to resolve the name dispute, and demanded unconditional protection of the Macedonian identity, the constitutional name of the state. Regarding the law on languages, he asked MPs to draft a new version after an extensive public debate with many experts, because, as he said, the present seriously violates the unity of the Republic of Macedonia and he does not make progress in the protection of the rights of nationalities.
He also spoke about fake news, which, he said, was himself a victim of, when he was accused of wanting to declare martial law and demanded responsibility from the creators. He claimed that certain institutions and responsible persons mount cases based on fake news and false information. Ivanov alarmed that over the past three years, more than 30% of intelligence identities have been disclosed and thus endangered lives and an agency’s data collection network has been destroyed.
The Macedonian President called for “a merciless fight against corruption and organized crime” and reforms in the judiciary. According to him, the reforms should be implemented with eminent, objective and independent experts, on which no party influence and pressure will be exercised.
Ivanov’s speech from Parliament Hall was met with loud reactions and disagreements when he spoke about the law of languages, the so-called Tirana platform, the reasons for the political crisis, Kosovo and the “Divo Naselje” case and the “For a United Macedonia” protests.
In the end, Ivanov’s speech was greeted with applause.
