Janeva out with all the secrets from the “Racket” case?

The dismissal of Special Prosecutor Katica Janeva is on Thursday’s agenda in Parliament. The Parliamentary Committee on Election and Appointment Issues will meet tomorrow at noon to review a report by the Council of Public Prosecutors, according to which Janeva performed her function illegally, recklessly and unprofessionally, alluding to the “Racket” affair.
Members of the panel will decide whether the session will be open to the public, given that the report also contains details of an ongoing investigation into the “Racket” case. The Chairman of the Committee, Ilija Dimovski, thinks that there is no reason for the session to be held behind closed doors and that the public interest should be given priority when it comes to such a case. He announced that he would ask the president of the Council of Public Prosecutors to declassify the report. The council says they will respond when Dimovski’s request arrives.

All against Janeva

The parliamentary committee is comprised of 13 lawmakers (six members of SDSM and DUI, six of VMRO-DPMNE and the coalition, as well as Fadil Zendeli of Besa), the current sentiment that everyone will vote to take away the detained prosecutor’s mandate. Immediately afterwards, the vote will be transferred to the congressional benches, which will require a two-thirds majority and a Badinter majority, which is not disputable.
But it is questionable whether the session will be scheduled and completed by September 15th, when the mandate of the SPO head expires. In fact, the question is why the Parliament is in a hurry to dismiss Janeva in order to possibly spark legal reflection by appointing an acting head prosecutor?
“There are no games. The fact that both the government and the opposition agree on the dismissal of Janeva is only due to the respect of the procedures in the Parliament. As soon as the Council of Prosecutors made a decision on her work, they immediately forwarded the decision to Parliament, or to Mr. Talat Xhaferi, and then it was forwarded to me. And now what was I or he supposed to do? Keep it in a drawer? Then you would suspect some other games. We are obliged to comply with the procedures. And appointing Janeva’s replacement is illegal”, Dimovski told Nezavisen Vesnik.
The appointment of her replacement is not an option even considered in the power camp, at least for the time being, while negotiations on Prosecution law are still ongoing. A new meeting is scheduled on Friday.
Recent information indicates that efforts are being made to bring key misunderstandings closer, regarding the views of both sides. Namely, both the government and the opposition agree that the SPO cases should not be interrupted, but the problem is that SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE have different ideas on how to proceed. The government wants the cases to immediately resume at the newly formed Prosecutor’s Office for Fighting Organized Crime and Corruption, which would be headed by Vilma Ruskovska, and all other prosecutors from the SPO would also be transferred there. The main opposition party, meanwhile, proposes that the cases opened by June 30, 2017 be transferred to the regular Prosecutor’s Office now headed by Ljubomir Joveski, while the SPO prosecutors are not automatically reassigned to the new Prosecutor’s Office, yet apply for the job like everyone else that is interested. In doing so, VMRO-DPMNE wants to propose the head of the newly-formed Prosecutor’s Office, the government to accept their proposal, and the Council of Prosecutors only to confirm it.
The party’s secretary general, Igor Janushev, reiterated yesterday that Plan B and any interventions in the Law on the Council of Public Prosecutors are no longer in play.
“Don’t underestimate the intelligence of the people, this is not the VMRO-DPMNE FROM the days when SDSM won at “green tables” and the people were not even asked, this is not VMRO-DPMNE from the time of the Przhino Agreement, nor does SDSM have the wind in its sails as it did back then. Those days are over! The Law on Public Prosecution will be passed – they will accept the suggestions and demands of VMRO-DPMNE, and we demand only modern and contemporary law, as those in any civilized country. SDSM’s attempts to defocus for alleged amnesties are going nowhere. It is simply what we are looking for: a law that respects the rule of law and law-abiding country by applying the international and European conventions on human rights. They will have to give up on the promotion of Katica Janeva they were demanding, to give up on transferring the staff of depleted and dead SPOs to the new PO department and will have to support an independent prosecution system. If they muster the strength to accept it, there will be a new PP Law”, Janushev said.
Shortly afterwards, a similar message was sent by his boss Hristijan Mickoski.
“If they are hoping for some new Przino, some new deal that will rerun an episode of weakened VMRO-DPMNE who signs everything, supplemented by a Praetorian in the negotiating team, they should know that they will not be seeing that movie. I promise you justice, and I do not plan any compromise on justice”, Mickoski said in a video message.

Palmer: Done with the games

SDSM responded that the party sees anxiety in VMRO-DPMNE, as building an independent, professional and non-selective justice system showed real results.
“Hristijan Mickoski and VMRO-DPMNE still have a chance to show that they really are in favor of justice and in favor of non-selective rule of law. Therefore, we urge them to contribute to the adoption of the law on public prosecution and to prove with action, not just words that they are in favor of non-selective rule of law. Anyone who breaks the law – will answer”, SDSM said with great confidence.
The law on Public Prosecution will be voted in Parliament on September 10th. Despite the hope, it is uncertain whether there will be a compromise between the parties.
The international community continues to send encouraging messages to pass the law that will greatly facilitate Brussels’ decision to give us a date for the start of accession negotiations with the European Union.
“The rule of law must work, and the time for games and party attempts to avoid responsibility is over. The country of North Macedonia is in NATO and in the EU”, underlined Matthew Palmer, US special envoy for the Balkans, at a Bled Strategic Forum sidelines meeting with Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov and Defense Minister Radmila Shekerinska.

Goran Adamovski