Zaev: Citizens need to read the agreement with Greece


The government should decide today on the way in which it will inform the public and the citizens about the importance of the upcoming referendum and the significance of the success of the Agreement with Greece for the future of the country, as well as the negative implications if the referendum fails.
Although public propaganda for the referendum has been launched, it is still not fully operational. For now, the battle takes place only on social networks. Citizens virtually draw information only from there. But it is uncertain is how much in that way they can build their position correctly with regard to the agreement with Greece, given the amount of contradictory information, the many manipulations and propaganda. In this direction, what also seems disappointing is the data from the MCIC poll that only three percent of the population actually read the agreement.
Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, after a panel discussion dedicated to 17 years since the signing of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, said the government will do everything in its power to encourage citizens in the country to read the Agreement and find out what it actually contains.
“We will try to bring the Agreement with Greece closer to all citizens through this campaign. I urge everyone to recognize that everything that is problematic about our identity has been completely resolved. The Macedonian identity has been guaranteed, the Macedonian language as well, and they are translatable on all languages. This is closure of the centuries-old struggle of our ancestors. With it the Macedonian identity, the Macedonian language have been guaranteed, no one has ever disputed our Macedonian language. At the session, the government will decide on ways to help in the information campaign for these three percent of citizens, who have read the agreement with Greece, to become 100 percent, it is an obligation of the government,” Zaev said.
He added that the government and the state have the full right to inform the public and the citizens before they make this historic decision.
The Prime Minister noted that the campaign will be further opened, although in accordance with the Law on Referendum, it begins with the decision of the Assembly for holding a referendum.
Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Bujar Osmani said that there will be two levels of campaign for the referendum and it will be informative, not propagandistic. The campaign will include the political parties along with coalition partners.
“Ignorance of accurate contract information is the biggest problem. The citizens will be reminded of the positive effects of the implementation of the process, but they will be informed of the negative implications of the eventual failure. We used today’s event to send a message about the future, not to return to the past,” Osmani said after the celebration of the Ohrid Framework Agreement. (NK)