Ivanov gets tangled in the political cobweb


President Gjorge Ivanov is inconsistent in all his statements, and his latest public appearances are in the context of removing his responsibility for the violent events in the Assembly. This is how part of the analysts we consulted comment the president’s appearance, who once again reiterated that he did not plan to declare a state of emergency, but he also admitted for the first time that his secretary general Boris Josifovski, on the fatal evening of April 27, was in the party headquarters of VMRO-DPMNE, where according to some of the accused for the bloody incidents, the main command of the people’s intrusion, and the attempt to prevent Talat Xhaferi from becoming Parliament Speaker, was coordinated.

The army – that’s me

“First he said that none of the staff in his office were involved in the events of April 27th, and now he says that his secretary general, who, by the way, is not a party servant, yet serves all citizens, was however in the party’s headquarters. His statements are populist, for instance, he says, “if any of the foreigners pressured me into not declaring state of emergency – let him speak,” and he knows well that diplomacy and international politics do not work that way, not even in the developing countries. If you can recall, he was full of inspirational ideas about the security of the country, that is, the way of organization and functioning, and on April 27, security experts from other states came in to parliament, who, incidentally, made contact with his cabinet. So, this speech is more about the needs of his PR than the need to say something essential,” analyst Albert Musliu told Nezavisen Vesnik/Independent Newspaper.

He does not want to speculate whether the Public Prosecutor’s Office is making its way to the Vodno villa, searching for the ones who ordered the intrusion and letting the judicial authorities have the last word.
“I cannot claim that he was involved. Hypothetically, even if he was involved, he certainly would not admit it on his own, so we can expect similar statements from him in days to come,” Musliu said.

Professor Gjorgji Spasov says that Ivanov nowadays is going with the thesis: the army – that’s me, and the army (like him) has a reputation even before NATO that nobody should question.
“Ivanov claims now, after Mijalkov is in prison and Gruevski is at large, that he has always pointed out that the UBK is the source of all problems and instability in Macedonia. He finally found someone to whom he could put all the blame for April 27, but probably for the political and propaganda preparation of that violence with his own hysteria against the ‘Tirana Platform’ and the not handing the mandate for the formation of a new government. He demands evidence for his innocence from all foreign ambassadors. He never intended to introduce either a military or a state of emergency in Macedonia because there were no conditions for it. And when explaining the reason for the amnesty, he informed us that he had decided not to use the army to deal with the internal situation in the country because, at the time, it was more important for him to guard the borders from the wave of refugees. Therefore, let’s wait for Ivanov to decide whether and when he is telling the truth. And until new evidence is on the table, besides everything we have seen, his personal involvement in all attempts to prevent a peaceful change of power in Macedonia,” said Spasov.

I said that UBK is the main problem

The Macedonian President said that in the past few years he as repeatedly and publicly warned of the dangers threatening the stability of the country, which was ignored. Therefore, now we all feel the consequences.

“The Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Macedonia has never discussed or considered proclaiming a military or state of emergency. By doing so, I reject all speculation that the international community was pressuring me to withdraw from any alleged plan to declare a state of emergency. At this point, I publicly call on foreign officials to come out and point out those who pressured me,” the Supreme Commander said.

President Ivanov advised citizens to read article 124 of the Constitution, which states that a state of war occurs when there is immediate military danger of an attack on the Republic, when the Republic is attacked or a war has been declared against it. In accordance with Article 125 of the Constitution, a state of emergency occurs when major natural disasters or epidemics occur.

“On April 27th, we did not have any of this. For a year and a half, me as president and my cabinet, we are a constant target of fake news and manipulations so that I succumb and withdraw from my views regarding the political developments in the country and the policies that are being implemented by the current government. In the past few days we were even witnesses of false statements given in the trial for the events of April 27,” Ivanov said.
He called on all those who accuse him to contact the Ministry of Defense, the ARM, the Intelligence Agency and the UBK, and obtain reliable information about the planning and daily activities of each senior commander and soldier. On the other hand, he pointed out that the Prosecution and the Army denied several days ago that he was in any way connected to the events of April 27th. Ivanov denied that a shelter in case of war was being prepared in “Jasen”. He said that two years ago he pointed out that the UBK is the main hotspot of generating all political and security crises in Macedonia, and that the disease has still not been removed.
“Boris Josifovski is a member of VMRO-DPMNE and as a member of that party there is nothing disputable in being present at the party’s headquarters. At the same time, we emphasize that presence does not involve involvement in specific activities. The presence of Josifovski at the VMRO-DPMNE headquarters on 27 April was aimed at an agreed meeting that has nothing to do with any coordination of any activities for allegedly declaring a state of war or emergency. After being summoned by President Ivanov in order to convene the Cabinet, Josifovski returned to his post,” the President’s Cabinet said.
VMRO-DPMNE also says that Josifovski as their member is always welcome in the party’s headquarters. For SDSM, Ivanov’s confession confirms some of the testimonies told in the trial for April 27.

“The stories of the suspects and the publicly available information show that in the luxurious palace, on the eighth floor in the headquarters of VMRO-DPMNE, activities for the brutal intrusion in the Parliament were coordinated on April 27,” said the ruling party from Bihac Street.
Goran Adamovski