Traffic collapse due to delegations

The citizens of Skopje argue whether it is necessary to close entire parts of the city for the delegations to freely pass.

Revolted citizens, lines of vehicles, blocked central region, people late for work, children late for school… Missing their meetings, duties are not being fulfilled, losing their nerves and money. This is how Skopje looks like when a foreign statesman visits the city. The traffic collapse, which is happening daily in the capital, is further amplified when a prime minister, president or parliamentary speaker of a country visits, who has no open issues with Macedonia, and of whom the citizens have hardly heard. The citizens of Skopje are right to react if it is necessary to close entire parts of the city for the delegation to pass freely and ask who should have priority, that is, who belongs to the city. Yesterday, Skopje was stuck with Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar, who is on a two-day visit to our country, as well as the celebration of the NATO Day.

“This doesn’t make sense anymore. You cannot get from Aerodrom to Centar for hours. You try Kuzman Josifovski-Pitu Boulevard, and so on, but once we crossed the Railway Station, we faced a mess. Cramped traffic, vehicles that cannot move either straight or back, the buses were late. At the complex banks, we waited for half an hour. In the end, at the Red Cross, instead of going towards “Ramstore”, the bus turned to Kisela Voda because the police did not allow us to go forward,” the citizens complain.

Yesterday at the Ministry of the Interior, we asked on the basis of which they carry out the traffic safety measures when visiting foreign delegations (political, sports, art etc.), whether the degree of safety is raised based on the rank of the client, preventively or because of the received information about possible assaults, protests and incidents, as well as how they follow the experiences of foreign countries. “The Ministry of Interior, in accordance with the Decree on the persons and facilities provided, the types of measures and activities and the levels of security, undertakes measures and activities for securing the highest representatives of foreign countries and international organizations during official and working visits to Macedonia. The decree on the persons and objects to be provided, the types of measures and activities and the levels of security is a regulation accessible to the public where issues of concern are regulated. In addition to the other security measures, measures and activities for physical and traffic security of the delegation during the movement and stay in Macedonia are undertaken, which is also the case with other security services in the neighborhood and wider,” as it was stated in the response we received.

Former Interior Minister Pavle Trajanov explains that the level of protection is set depending on the position of the visiting person.

A minister in government is one degree, for prime minister, president or state assembly is higher. In accordance with the function it performs and the importance of the country from which it comes from or the threat of globalization, as well as in relations with Macedonia, the Ministry of Interior approaches concrete measures, plans are made and security actions are taken. A higher level of security measures is being taken and if there is an announcement of a possible terrorist attack, such as threats by the ‘Islamic State’, so responsibility is really high. What if an incident really happened? It is better to prevent it than to treat,” Trajanov told us.

He says the problem in Skopje is difficult and additional chaos arises because there are no alternative streets in the city that could be used in such situations, that is, for redirecting traffic and avoiding blockades on the main roads.
“There is another important thing that must be noted. When organizing and implementing traffic safety measures, the departure and movement must be most precisely synchronized. Officers stop the vehicles when they get notified that the delegation will pass for so many minutes. But it often happens that officials stay a minute, show their hosts, and there are lines of vehicles during that time, because the police officer, who he has already blocked traffic, cannot cancel the order and then once again implement it”, Trajanov explains.

Miro Cerar is Slovenia’s Prime Minister, who last month surprisingly handed his resignation, dissatisfied that the country’s Supreme Court overturned a referendum on the construction of a new railway line across Slovenia. The question is whether the traffic can be stopped for shorter time and organize more efficient passage of delegations, as is done in other countries outside of Macedonia. Moreover, the same thing happens during each visit of foreign delegation that has official meetings with the Macedonian political leaders, and that it entails the loss of time and damage, not to mention some possible urgent needs, such as transporting the ill and the ones in life-threatening situations.

Goran Adamovski