Resignation and responsibility from “Capo di tutti capi”


Aleksandar Nikoloski

Dear readers, look what has happened in these past two weeks since my last column. If sometimes there are not enough topics to write about, this time there is an abundance and one does not know what to write about first, so I decided to write about all of them together – because there is one denominator that connects them, one person, one “Capo di tutti capi” that is at the top of the pyramid. In these past two weeks we have seen how the Secretary General of the Government has negotiated and rigged tenders, while insulting entire nations and countries, we saw how two plain comedians mocked and played games with the prime minister all year long, and not just mocked, but also managed to convince him to reveal state secrets, give out security sensitive information, consent to bribing the leader of the Orthodox Christians throughout the world, give telephone numbers of people in top positions and meet controversial characters prosecuted in their countries. And on Monday we saw how something we all already knew finally gets publicly unveiled – that this government functions only on the principle of corruption and extortion.
We saw how a media-prosecutorial machinery racketeered numerous businessmen in the country, gaining huge financial benefits for themselves. The common denominator of all three cases is the “Capo di tutti capi” – Zoran Zaev, who has nothing left to do but immediately resign, and have his personal involvement in these cases examined by the state authorities. If we have heard enough about the conversations with the two comedians and there is nothing left to be elaborated, then the prosecution needs to act on at least two grounds – revealing state secrets and accepting to offer a bribe. Two serious crimes.
Regarding the case with the Secretary General of the Government, it is a fact that the prosecution did not react very quickly. There are serious indications of crime in the conversations. One company is being favored over the other two, the winning company is known in advance, meetings are held with it and the company finally gets the tender, even though its offer is one million euros higher than the other two. Even if everything was fine, and it wasn’t, the role of the Secretary General of the Government, which has no legal form to be part of this procedure, is disputable. He doesn’t hold any kind of position at the M-NAV, neither the procurement is done by the Government, but by the M-NAV. These are enough clues for serious crimes. “Capo di tutti capi” got seriously involved in this scandal, trying to defend the Secretary General of the Government, and first said that there was a decision made by the Government to appoint the Secretary General to do the job, and when he saw there was no such thing, because it is legally impossible to have such a decision, he said that he verbally appointed him, which is also legally problematic. After that kind of defending, it is quite reasonable for the public to ask whether Zaev has a personal financial interest in the disputed tender. Did Dragi Raskovski just work for Zaev, so that is why he defends him now? So many questions, and not a single answer from the competent institutions.
And finally, the scandal above all scandals, corruption above all corruption, the TV owner’s racketeering and of one or more prosecutors from the Special Prosecutor’s Office. This scandal, like a house of cards, tore down all the lies that were forced into the public opinion since the so-called “bombs” were made public. At that time, many citizens were angry at the previous government, and most likely rightfully so, that government had its share of mistakes, as there were many good things. The people’s anger was abused by Zaev, by the “Capo di tutti capi” and the team around him, pressured to create a steady institution, announced as an institution that will bring justice, and essentially an institution that was to extort on behalf of Zaev.
This institution’s first job was to politically clean the ground and bring Zaev to power, and, as we saw later on, financially as well. Certainly a media outlet has been added so that propaganda can work and crush political opponents or victims of the racketeering. I want to exclusively share here that almost everyone is under investigation or accused by this so-called institution, and is a member of, or a close to VMRO-DPMNE, and have faced direct blackmail from those who were supposed to bring justice! That blackmail, or, in the words of those who were supposed to bring justice – a “friendly advice” was always about acting against VMRO-DPMNE. For example, give an interview in which you will attack VMRO-DPMNE and you won’t be held responsible, meet with this or that senior SDSM official, make a deal on how to crush VMRO-DPMNE from the inside so as not be held accountable, and many other similar offers. Most of these offers have been rejected, and most of the people are being dragged to courts under suspicious and legally unreliable charges.
I’ve heard this directly from most of them. They came and told me themselves. You might not believe one, or two, but when you hear it from dozens of people you get a different picture of things. Of course, there are probably people who have made a legal mistakes before, but most of them are part of the political persecution aimed at closing VMRO-DPMNE down. After he did not succeed in persuading people to destroy VMRO-DPMNE from inside through this institution, he moved on to phase two – the master plan for closing VMRO-DPMNE, information that I first shared with the public at a TV duel with Radmila Shekerinska.  This information has not been denied to date, because it can not be, the institution opened a case against VMRO-DPMNE out of its deadline, whose goal is for the court decision to close the party down. So, the plan of the “Capo di tutti capi” that failed was to formally shut down VMRO-DPMNE so that he could rule and steal. He was convinced that by changing the country’s name in such a treacherous way he did, he would be allowed to do what he wanted, or as we said – they are changing a name so they could steal!
But, this is not the case, and the best proof is that this action of the prosecution would never have happened and no one would be investigated if there wasn’t for the pressure from the international community to deal with crime and corruption. As I’ve been informed, the international community has put even more pressure on Monday afternoon when it saw that the intention was to hide the main people and prosecute  the perpetrators only. The message is that this case will be closely monitored and the international community will not allow crime to remain untouched and unpunished. This is so, because the foundation of international good practices in the Western countries is the rule of law and they will never allow this to be disregarded. “Capo di tutti capi” can lie as much as he wants that he has support and abuse the international community, but facts and reality deny it.
In the past couple of days public learned what this operation looked like, they ways they were stealing. Similar to VMRO-DPMNE. You make up a case, then blackmail. In VMRO-DPMNE it was political, as for the businessmen it was financial. According to talks around town, this is just the tip of the iceberg, which is much deeper and involves top individuals from SDSM headed by the “Capo di tutti capi” who was constantly informed and up to date. He knew everything! Therefore, the prosecution should also summon him to the inquiry and open an investigation into his involvement in this case of racketeering. He was probably at the top of the pyramid.
For starters, they should look in the meeting books of the Prime Minister Zaev and the security cameras of the Government and SDSM, on average once or twice a week, “Capo di tutti capi” had long meetings with the first suspect. What they talked at those meetings and what they coordinated. Is it possible that the “Capo di tutti capi” gave him directions on who to be the next victim? Did he give instructions how to meet with the victims in Greece and to collect the money there? These and many similar issues are talked around town and it is redirected to open the prosecution through a legal procedure. What is another fact is that the mother of the first suspect, on SDSM’s proposal, was elected in February in the Parliament as a member of the State Commission for Free Access to Public Information.
What is happening to Macedonia is the peak of crime and corruption that must have a legal and political ending. “Capo di tutti capi” should first resign, and then have his work legally examined. It is the only way in which the first step towards restoring the norm in Macedonia should be made. Political and legal responsibility!

Views expressed in this article are personal views of the author and do not represent the editorial policy of Nezavisen Vesnik