Katica will be dismissed after Sept. 8th- Independence day

Goran Adamovski

As rarely seen, parties in both the government and the opposition have agreed to dismiss Katica Janeva from the post of Head Special Prosecutor. MPs went through the first filter yesterday in less than an hour, and the final one will be completed shortly after the country’s Independence Day on September 8th. Until then, the parties will continue to negotiate over the new Prosecution law, which is set to appoint a successor to the detained prosecutor. If not, the SPO cases will require another solution.
However, Parliament’s Committee on Elections and Appointments held a closed-door meeting yesterday. President Ilija Dimovski said he stayed on his stance that it would be good for everyone to hear the details of the investigation into the “Racket” case, but nonetheless, the Council of Prosecutors’ position was respected, according to the report on Janeva’s “unprofessional, unlawful and unprincipled work conduct contains confidential information and materials that must not be declassified. He noted, however, that the public will find out key information one way or another in the coming days.
“I saw the report and it contains a lot of details”, Dimovski claimed before the beginning of the session.
The committee comprises 13 MPs (six each from the government and opposition VMRO-DPMNE, as well as one MP of Besa), with ten of them having the necessary security clearances to review confidential information. The rest were represented by their deputies. The session lasted only a few minutes, MPs were not very interested in replying when no one was watching, and everyone had an identical stance – that Janeva must be dismissed.
“The Committee unanimously, and without a debate, approved the proposal to the Parliament for the dismissal of Katica Janeva. MPs from most political parties attended the session. Those who had the right to vote – voted without exception. The decision was unanimous by 13 votes, with no political party voting ‘against’ the proposal. I hope for the same result of voting in the plenary session procedure”, Dimovski said after the session.
This was also confirmed by Muhamed Zekiri of SDSM, who, however, denied that the report by the Prosecutors’ Council contained as many interesting details as his VMRO-DPMNE colleague said.
“We are waiting for Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi to convene a plenary session to vote on the conclusion. And we, as a party, regret that it was not open to the public, but you need not worry of something “very interesting” in the report. We hope that the trial will start soon and the fog around this case will be cleared up”, said the SDSM vice president.
The Commission’s conclusion is sent to Speaker Xhaferi, who is to convene a plenary session on Janeva’s dismissal. It will not discuss the report of the Council of Prosecutors, but only the proposal for dismissal. The decision is taken by a two-thirds majority and a Badinter majority, and should ultimately be confirmed by the Council of Prosecutors.
According to information from Xhaferi’s office, the session will be scheduled shortly after the holiday – on Tuesday or Wednesday. That session will move fast, even though it will be open to the public. The session will directly got to voting. Judging by the sentiment of the parent committee, Janeva will be dismissed unanimously or by a vast majority.
Janeva’s term expires on September 15th. MPs will dismiss her based on a report by the Council written in ten pages and without a court ruling.

Kostadinov: Dimovski should not have lead the Committee

Kostadin Kostadinov, a SDSM MP, and a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Elections and Appointments, demanded the dismissal of President Ilija Dimovski before yesterday’s session on the dismissal of suspected prosecutor Katica Janeva.
According to Kostadinov, Dimovski is indicted in one of the SPO cases, and because of conflicts of interests with his own personal interest, he requested that the Committee be led by Zoran Ilioski, who is also an MP of VMRO-DPMNE.
Dimovski responded that the rights and obligations of the MPs derive from the citizens, but also that if one goes in line with Kostadinov’s request – many SDSM MPs who are members of the Committee are also suspected of involvement in the “Racket” affair, and yet VMRO – DPMNE have not requested their exclusion because the opposition party respects the right to presumption of innocence.