LOCAL PRESS

 

Brnabic thanks Bulgaria for its vote in Energy Community (Tanjug)

 

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic held a bilateral meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov in Sofia on Thursday, expressing her gratitude for support for voting in the European Energy Association. In her statement to Tanjug, Brnabic said she thanked her Bulgarian counterpart for the support that this country, although it had recognized the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo, during the voting in the European Energy Association, which is very important for Serbs living in Kosovo and Metohija, so that the Serbian electricity network will remain there and that they will have a safe supply. She assessed that this was a great and friendly gesture, adding that she conveyed gratitude to the Prime Ministers of Montenegro and Macedonia, with whom she participated in the panel at the start of the summit in Sofia, who abstained during the vote.

 

Brnabic hands over to Tsipras letter intended for heads of government (Tanjug/Novosti)

 

Brnabic met in Thessaloniki with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras ahead of their joint participation in the panel during the summit, where they will talk about regional cooperation and European integration. At the beginning of November, Brnabic ordered the government of Serbia to prepare letters to the heads of government of all countries in the world to point out the decisions and conduct of Pristina that violate all agreements reached, regional initiatives and international agreements. Brnabic personally handed over the letter to Tsipras, and she will send the letter to other heads of government of the world today.

 

Stefanovic: Kosovo Interpol membership would give terrorists access to databases (Tanjug)

 

Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic warned on Thursday an admission of the so-called Kosovo to Interpol would enable terrorists to access the organization’s databases.

“In addition to being a violation of international law, UNSCR 1244 and all other norms concerning membership requirements, a decision to accept the so-called Kosovo’s membership application would be very dangerous because Interpol databases, which also contain information about individuals suspected of the most serious crimes, including terrorism - could end up in the hands of terrorists themselves,” Stefanovic said in a statement to Tanjug.

 

Stefanovic: All security services have their tasks (B92/TV Prva)

 

A meeting of the Bureau for Coordination of Security Services has been held in Belgrade on Friday morning. Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic says that a detailed work plan for all services has been agreed upon during the meeting. Asked whether Kosovo and its membership in Interpol, as well as the announced forming of an army there, were the main topics, Stefanovic said that the overall security situation was considered, with a special focus on Kosovo, and most importantly on the formation of an army, as this goes against all international legal documents. On the other hand, such a decision cannot even be implemented without the support of the Serbs, the interior minister explained, and emphasized that Kosovo does not have such support. According to him, the current goal of Serbia is to respond to these challenges and prevent the Serbs from the southern province, who rightly feel insecure, not to feel that way, as well as to prevent instability and its transfer to other parts of Serbia. When asked what the concrete conclusion of today's meeting was, Stefanovic replied: “The concrete conclusion is that all the services of security have been given their tasks, but for understandable reasons, I cannot say what tasks those are.” But, he added, the essence is to prevent an exodus of Serbs. Asked what Serbia can do before, in only a few days, the question of Kosovo’s membership is raised in Interpol, Stefanovic says that all countries that will arrive to the vote are being analyzed. “There is now a degree of uncertainty, because you cannot know how anyone voted since the vote is secret. We are also looking for corrupt activities, whether someone from Kosovo is trying to buy these votes for gifts or money,” Stefanovic said, adding that if evidence of such activities is found, it will be presented to Interpol. “We will also point out why Kosovo should not be a member of Interpol, starting from the issue of leaking information about terrorists, through organized crime, which flourishes in Kosovo. So, we have good legal and political arguments, however the question remains who is ready to accept them, and to what degree,” Stefanovic said.

“Nothing is resolved until it is resolved, we will be fighting until the last moment, we talk to everyone until the last moment and we point out to all the arguments,” Stefanovic concluded.

 

Detailed plan of work for all security services agreed (RTS)

 

The Bureau for the Coordination of the Work of the Security Services of the Republic of Serbia discussed the overall security situation in the country at its today’s session, with particular reference to the current situation in the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, bearing in mind the announced formation of the "Kosovo Army" and the upcoming General Assembly of Interpol. A detailed work plan was agreed on for all security services that received specific tasks and will take all necessary measures to prevent security challenges to prevent significant instability from turning into a situation that could endanger the security of Serbs in the southern Serbian province. It was pointed out that the announced formation of the so-called “Kosovo Army” would be contrary to UN Security Council Resolution 1244, but also guarantees from the international community that without which such a decision cannot be made. The circumstances related to the upcoming General Assembly of Interpol and the request of “Kosovo” for admission to the international police organization were also considered. Serbia will continue to present legal, police and political arguments, which say that Kosovo should not be a member of Interpol, but also to indicate how much this would be a security threat, because, among other things, the database of this police organization could be misused. The topic of the session of the Bureau was the fight against corruption and organized crime, with special emphasis on the suppression of drug trafficking. At the same time, concrete measures have been agreed for the police and security services in accordance with the legally prescribed powers and in cooperation with the competent prosecutor’s offices, all with the aim of protecting the Republic of Serbia and the security of its citizens. The Bureau of the Bureau was chaired by Secretary of the National Security Council, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Nebojsa Stefanovic.

Apart from members of the Bureau, the meeting was also attended by Minister of Justice Nela Kuburovic, Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin, Republic Public Prosecutor Zagorka Dolovac, the Police Director and the Prosecutor for Organized Crime.

 

Ljajic: Serbia, B&H not to attend CEFTA meetings in Pristina (Tanjug)

 

Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) will not attend the meetings of the Central European Free Trade Association (CEFTA) working bodies in Pristina on November 20-21 and a December 3 ministerial meeting to also be held in Pristina during the CEFTA week, Serbian Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajic told Tanjug Thursday. Ljajic said this was the joint conclusion of his telephone conversation with his B&H counterpart Mirko Sarovic.

 

Scott: Higher duties danger to Balkan stability (N1)

 

US Ambassador to Serbia Kyle Scott wrote on his Twitter account that Pristina’s decision to raise import duties on Serbian goods poses a danger to the region’s stability. “The US stand is clear: the import duties are a violation of the CEFTA and are endangering the long-term stability and prosperity of the region,” the ambassador wrote in Serbian.  “Attention should not be drawn away from the (Belgrade-Pristina) dialogue,” he added. Ambassador Scott’s tweet was in response to a tweet by US Charge D’Affaires in Pristina Colleen Hynd who warned that “increasing duties on fellow CEFTA members does not benefit Kosovo”.

 

Russia on Kosovo: International law, and it must suit Serbs (B92/Beta/Tanjug)

 

When it comes to finding a solution for the Kosovo issue, Russia proceeds from international law, and a solution that must suit the people of Serbia, the spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova told a regular press conference on Thursday. Commenting on Kosovo President Hashim Thaci’s statement after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Paris on Sunday that “Russia’s position in relation to Pristina should be changed, she said that everything is based on international law. “Today, the UN Security Council Resolution (1244) is in force, which has not been abolished, and it determines the position of Russia in relation to a Kosovo solution. We rely on that, but we understand that there are negotiations between the two sides, and in that, we have not only once announced that we are forming our position both on the basis of international law and, of course, proceeding from the fact that the decisions that could be made should correspond to the interests of the people of Serbia,” Zakharova said. She added that this formula is sufficiently universal, and therefore, no other recipes should be sought for Russia to change its position.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Zvizdic reacts to Serbian PM Brnabic’s denial of Srebrenica genocide (TV1)

 

Chairman of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Council of Ministers (CoM) Denis Zvizdic issued a statement on Thursday in reaction to Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic’s statement for Deutsche Welle in which she denied the genocide in Srebrenica. In his statement, Zvizdic pointed to some of the facts that have been established in the rulings of international courts and the Court of B&H, underscoring that they indicate that the crime of genocide was committed in Srebrenica. Zvizdic expressed shock over the fact that there is an attempt to use uncivilized denial of the crime of genocide to relativize the planned killing of more than 8,000 innocent civilians, deny international law, and dispute rulings of international courts. The statement also reads: “Prime Minister Brnabic, the committed genocide should therefore be the reason to think about the mistakes that were made in the past, for a sincere repentance, and for ultimately recognizing it is a precondition for the necessary catharsis without which reconciliation processes are not possible,” said Zvizdic.

 

Lukac calls on Minister Mektic to vote against Kosovo’s membership in Interpol (ATV)

 

Republika Srpska (RS) Minister of Interior Dragan Lukac sent a letter to B&H Security Minister Dragan Mektic reminding him of the session of the Interpol General Assembly, which is scheduled for November 19-22 in Dubai. Lukac reminded Mektic that one of the items on the agenda of the General Assembly is full membership of the self-declared Kosovo. Lukac reminded that members of B&H delegation are representatives of the Ministry of Security and the B&H Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies, while Mektic is the head of the delegation. Lukac told Mektic that any other kind of voting that implies supporting the membership or even abstained from vote will mean that B&H admits the self-declared independence of Kosovo. Lukac told media: “The RS Ministry of Interior, as well as the RS government have their stance on this issue, we suggested him (Mektic) that he has no right to abstain and that he must be against this, bearing in mind that this is in the interest of the RS and in the interest of B&H. Regardless of what other people think, we (Serbs) have our emotions on this matter, we have obligations and we also signed the agreement on parallel and special relations. When it comes to security, the RS and the Republic of Serbia certainly have a great cooperation and our goal is to maintain the cooperation”.

 

B&H CEC fails to pass decision on manner of distribution of mandates in Federation of B&H HoP (TV1)

 

The B&H Central Election Commission (CEC) held a session on Thursday. The decision on the model for distribution of seats in the Federation of B&H House of Peoples (HoP) was not adopted during Thursday’s session. The disputable part of the decision refers to the population census which will be used as the basis, the one from 1991 or the one from 2013. The Office of the High Representative (OHR) sent its recommendations to the Constitutional Court of B&H (CC), reading that the 1991 population census must be used for distribution of seats in the Federation of B&H HoP. The Venice Commission, on the other hand, stated that the 2013 population census should be used in this case. B&H CEC members stated that they are under serious pressure in making this decision, adding that the same pressure is being exerted onto the B&H CC. B&H CEC President Branko Petric said that it does not matter which population census will be chosen, because, as he stated, “both are bad”. If the 2013 population census is used, one Croat from Sarajevo Canton, Tuzla Canton (TC) and Una-Sana Canton (USC), and one Bosniak from Canton 10 and Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (HNC) would not be given seats in the Federation of B&H HoP. The B&H CEC is expected to make the decision in seven days.

Meanwhile, CEC adopted a decision on awarding mandates as well as replacement mandates to newly-elected officials in the authorities in B&H.

 

Dunovic: Applying 2013 population census could lead to annulment of multi-ethnicity of B&H (FTV)

 

Federation of B&H Vice President Milan Dunovic (DF), said that missing the deadlines for formation of authorities could easily happen since the B&H Central Election Commission (CEC) has not yet passed a methodology of nomination of representatives in cantonal assemblies in the Federation of B&H for the Federation of B&H House of Peoples (HoP). He assessed that this might result in blockades in formation of the state-level and the Federation of B&H authorities.

Dunovic reminded that dilemmas among B&H CEC members on this issue have political background and this is intolerable since B&H CEC as a state-level institution must not take the right to decide if the Annex 7 of the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA) is implemented or not. “In case that the 1991 population census is used, this was defined by the DPA as it reads that this census will be used until completion of implementation of the Annex 7. The other issue that B&H CEC members often remind of is related to the decision of the Constitutional Court (CC) of B&H in the ‘Ljubic’ case, where B&H CEC says it needs to apply the 2013 population census due to annulment of certain articles of the Election Law of B&H. This is absolutely not true. The Annex 7 was not implemented and the 1991 population census should be used in this case, and there is the Constitution of the Federation of B&H that precisely defines the method of election of delegates to the Federation of B&H HoP. As long as there is such provision in the Constitution of the Federation of B&H, B&H CEC has an obligation to apply it” Dunovic explained. He added that B&H CEC members have to respect two very important legal acts – the Constitution of the Federation of B&H that stipulates the method of election to the Federation of B&H HoP and the DPA, warning that B&H CEC is not the one to decide at any moment if the Annex 7 if implemented or not. Dunovic noted that only the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) is the body to decide on that through the High Representative (HR), or eventually B&H parliament. He reminded that the Office of the High Representative (OHR) is the only true interpreter of the DPA, and if the OHR’s expert stance is to apply the 1991 population census - than it actually performs its mandate by implementing the DPA. Dunovic warned that applying the 2013 population census could lead to annulment of multi-ethnicity of B&H and could bring in question the status of constituent peoples of all citizens of B&H, which might become a very serious problem for B&H’s future and might return B&H’s society in the period from 18 years ago. Dunovic stated that the example where annulment of multi-ethnicity was attempted already exists in B&H in the case of position of the Serb people in four cantons in the Federation of B&H with Croat majority, where Serbs do not have the status of constituent peoples, warning that such situation might have reflections on entire B&H. “I will do everything possible to prevent violation of the Constitution of the Federation of B&H through legal activities, in line with my competences,” Dunovic asserted, stressing that he also expects the reaction of the OHR in case of the B&H CEC’s decision to apply the 2013 population census.

 

Cvijanovic hands over her duty to Deputy RS PM Golic ahead of inauguration as RS President on Tuesday (ATV)

 

RS Prime Minister and newly-elected RS President Zeljka Cvijanovic (SNSD) handed over her duty to Deputy RS PM Srebrenka Golic, at the 204th session of the outgoing convocation of the RS government, in Banja Luka on Thursday. Thus, Cvijanovic authorized RS Minister of Spatial Planning, Civil Engineering and Ecology Golic to lead the RS government until appointment of a new one that is expected to take place at the beginning of December. On this occasion, Cvijanovic announced that a name of the RS PM-Designate will be announced on Tuesday, after taking oaths in the RS parliament at Monday’s inaugural session so that he can launch the process of consultations. According to Cvijanovic, there will be no problems as SNSD’s candidate for the RS PM-Designate Radovan Viskovic took part in establishment of all important political issues as an RS MP. Cvijanovic stressed: “I must say that a big part of the consultations is already done and the only thing left to do is to work. Policies are more or less already defined and now we will deal with finesses. I think that formation of executive authorities will be simple, fast and efficient”. Cvijanovic is convinced that there will be no deadlocks even for a day and added that strategic documents will be defined after appointment of the Government. Viskovic told RTRS on Wednesday that he expects that the Government will be formed by the mid of December, while the new RS Budget and the RS Economic Policy will be adopted by the end of the year. Viskovic underlined that the new RS government will be the first one that will not depend on anyone. During the session, outgoing Ministers wished Cvijanovic all the best during her future work as the new RS President.

 

Leader of SDS Govedarica expels Jerinic from party (ATV)

 

Leader of SDS Vukota Govedarica expelled on Thursday member of SDS Main Board Boris Jerinic from membership in this party due to violation of SDS Statute and activities that oppose official stances of the party. SDS issued a press release which reads that Jerinic did not respect the Statute and decisions of SDS Main Board, acting against interests of the party for a longer period of time. The press release also stated that bodies of SDS did not authorize Jerinic to attend a meeting with a delegation of SNSD on Wednesday. The reporter noted that Govedarica got mad due to a decision of SDS MPs from Doboj who will continue political work within ranks of SNSD in the B&H parliament and the RS parliament. Commenting on the decision to expel him from the party, Jerinic said that Govedarica obviously needs suitable and not competent people. According to Jerinic, those who advise Govedarica to make these kinds of moves are the only culprits for defeat that SDS suffered in the general elections. Jerinic argued that this is another showdown of Govedarica with all those who have different opinion. Jerinic said that he will consider the possibility to appeal this decision, reminding that SDS Main Board is expected to convene in Istocno Sarajevo on Saturday. Jerinic suffered the same destiny as Mayor of Doboj Obren Petrovic who was expelled from the party several days ago due to similar reasons. Over the past couple of days, members of SDS in Zvornik, Teslic, Bijeljina and Sarajevo-Romanija region called for resignation of Govedarica and holding of internal elections within the party.

 

The cousins are the only untouchables left (Nezavisen vesnik)

 

The cousins are the only untouchables left Former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski’s escape has put his former closest associates, Mile Janakieski and Kiril Bozinovski, in the Sutka prison facility. Unlike the richest Macedonian Orce Kamcev, who received decent accommodation in Sutka in one of the so-called "Hague rooms", as we learn, Janakieski and Bozinovski are placed in ordinary cells. From what the Macedonian public heard in the published conversations, former Minister of Transport and Communications Janakieski was the chief executor of the ideas of his boss, and at the same level was the then Secretary of the government, Kiril Bozinovski.

After Gruevski announced on his Facebook page that he was in Budapest and was applying for political asylum, the Special Public Prosecutor's Office has expressly requested detention for Janakieski and Bozinovski because they got the information that they were getting ready to escape just like Gruevski. The prosecutor's office, headed by Katica Janeva, has not yet received information that the former head of the UBK and the first cousin of the former prime minister, Saso Mijalkov is about to escape. Mijalkov is charged with the arrest of former Interior Minister Ljube Boskoski for one of the cases of the SPO for election irregularities, but the main indictment against the former head of the secret police is in the case Target - Fortress, i.e. for mass wiretapping. This case is still at the very beginning, and Mijalkov is not among the first defendants, yet the fifth. For now, his passport is in court and he has an obligation to report regularly. The prosecutor of the SPO, Lile Stefanova, and her boss say that if there is information that Mijalkov may escape, she will immediately seek custody, regardless of the fact that it seemed that Gruevski would not escape and yet ended up in Budapest. "If there is even the slightest basis for suspicion that there is flight risk or influence on any of the witnesses, we will immediately file a request for detention, there are no untouchables in this country," said prosecutor Stefanova. Although the Special Public Prosecutor's Office assured the public that the time for Gruevski to serve his sentence would come, still his escape angered the public and opened up the suspicion that the government deliberately let Gruevski escape or he outsmarted it and showed that he was a few steps ahead of it. However, none of the institutions participating in the security operation feels responsible. The Special Prosecutor's Office says they have demanded custody of Gruevski when charges were brought against him for the Titanic case, but the proposal was rejected. "When we filed the indictment, we applied for detention, and then the Criminal Council rejected our request with allegations that, although there is flight risk, the person can secure it by seizing the passport and calling the defendants once a week to report to court. In the meantime, the accused Gruevski demanded that reporting to court once a week be replaced reporting once a month, after which we gave an opinion that it should be rejected. The court accepted it, and now they report to court once a month. All these conditions were predispositions for such an escape. Whether it was a politician or a wealthy person, whether he was important in society, it does not matter at all in that moment, because everyone is in a situation like the defendants in the 'Titanic', where they are threatened with imprisonment for at least three, four or five years, the flight risk is great. Earlier, this flight risk was not taken sufficiently into consideration and this is what happened," says Stefanova. But the fact is that after the verdict, the Special Public Prosecutor's Office did not ask for custody for Gruevski even though his subordinate after the verdict for the same case was immediately taken to Sutka. The prosecutor who led the Tank case, in which Gruevski was convicted, Stevco Donev, did not respond to our messages why he did not ask for custody of Gruevski after the verdict's validity. His colleague Stefanova says he cannot say why then Gruevski was not put in custody because she did not lead the case. State Attorney General Ljubomir Joveski says that detention proved to be the most effective measure of security for such crime. "The public prosecutor may ask the court to order detention, and custody may also be required after the pronouncement of the verdict. The court may, ex officio, request an opinion to have grounds for determining detention after the pronouncement of the first instance verdict," Joveski said. Neither the SPO nor the court took advantage of these opportunities, and prosecutor Stefanova said that the fault was in the institutions. Wednesday was the day when Gruevski was supposed to be handed a decision at the Titanic hearing, and he was supposed to go to prison. But the court failed to hand him the decision, Gruevski left for Budapest to his close friend - the prime minister of Hungary Viktor Orban. The SPO now asks that Gruevski be tried in absentia, and Janakieski and Bozinovski to be taken to the prison in Sutka. The trial was postponed to the end of the month.

 

Zaev protects Spasovski

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev sees no errors in the institutions’ work and does not require anybody's accountability, although the court did look for Gruevski because it was a weekend, although police searched car trunks along with journalists, although the SPO, the institution that was formed to bring justice to Macedonia, did not request detention for him even after the verdict's validity. Just like his predecessors, he says this government is honest and respects the Constitution and the laws. "There have been no mistakes made by any institution. Except if the border services let him pass at the official border crossings and if the border police made some mistakes, we immediately ordered a warrant to investigate the whole procedure," Zaev says. He strongly denies that he has any political agreement with Gruevski and re-assures that Gruevski will sooner or later return to Macedonia and serve his prison sentence. “I'll just say once again the kind of coward he is. He has always said that he was ready to go to prison for Macedonia, no matter what happened. That he, just to get everyone else out, is willing to take responsibility and the like. When the moment of taking responsibility has come, he fled the country trying to get new abolitions. That in itself confirms that he is guilty of what he was convicted. It will probably be confirmed in court that it was the court’s job. Macedonia only has a future if there is punishment. Punishment must be delivered and served. We will do everything within the limits of our competence to bring Gruevski back,” Zaev said.

 

Public Prosecutor’s Office launches pre-trial investigation over Gruevski’s escape (Meta)

 

The Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office for Prosecuting Organized Crime and Corruption (BPPS-POCC) has announced that a pre-trial investigation has begun, due to suspicion that certain officials abused their official position, enabling Nikola Gruevski to flee Macedonia. The prosecution says the decision to open the case was made “following information regarding the escape of the convicted N.G, as well as articles featured in the media and mounting public interest.” “There are grounds for suspicion that certain officials, abused their official position and authority, thus enabling the offender to leave the Republic of Macedonia illegally. The case has been assigned to the competent prosecutor and within the pre-trial procedure, orders for gathering data related to the incident have been issued,” reads the statement.

 

US: Gruevski should serve his jail term in Macedonia (Meta)

 

The US believes that convicted MP and former prime minister Nikola Gruevski, who is seeking political asylum in Hungary, should serve his jail term at home, said a State Department spokesman. “After a thorough and transparent legal process, Nikola Gruevski was convicted by Macedonian courts of misuse of office and sentenced to two years in prison. Multiple courts upheld this conviction. In addition, Mr. Gruevski is indicted in four pending criminal cases,” the spokesperson said, adding that “we believe it is appropriate for the Macedonian legal process to proceed and for Mr Gruevski to be held accountable within the Macedonian justice system,” said the State Department spokesman.

 

Gruevski traveled from Albania to flee to Hungary (ADN)

 

Albanian State Police confirmed on Thursday evening that Macedonia's former Prime Minister, Nikola Gruevski traveled from Albanian border point of Hani i Hotit to Hungary where is seeking political asylum. In a press statement, police declared that Gruevski was not a 'wanted person' while he traveled in Albania and this is the reason why he was not detained by the Albanian authorities. "The Department of Border and Migration in State Police confirms that the citizen Nikola Gruevski passed in Albanian border point of Hani i Hotit on 11.11.2018 toward Montenegro as a passenger of the vehicle with plates CD1013A, property of Hungarian Embassy in Tirana. He was not declared wanted on this date. Interpol Skopje sent to Interpol Tirana on 13.11.2018 on 19:35 the announcement that this citizen is declared wanted," informed Albanian State Police.

 

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

 

Gruevski’s Escape Casts Dark Shadow Over Macedonia’s Govt (BIRN, by Ana Petruseva, 16 November 2018)

 

The ex-PM’s curiously easy getaway will reinforce suspicions that the new authorities preferred his flight abroad to the prospect of having a ‘patriotic martyr’ rotting in jail at home – and perhaps staging a comeback.

It has been a week since Nikola Gruevski, convicted felon and former prime minister of Macedonia, was last seen in public. He disappeared last Friday only to resurface on Tuesday, announcing on Facebook that he was in Budapest, seeking political asylum. Numerous questions about how Gruevski – whose passport was confiscated by the courts in 2017 – managed to appear in Budapest are clouded in conspiracy theories; they include the help of “friends in high places” from Skopje to Moscow, to the aid of various foreign and domestic intelligence agencies as well as large sums of cash. Conspiracy theories aside, the other question is how Macedonia’s authorities are handling the matter. In parliament, where Gruevski remains an MP, there has been a discussion about what to do with his salary during his “unjustified absence” – and a decision to deduct 5 per cent of his pay each month. Yes, he will continue to receive a paycheck from tax payers, just as the law stipulates. Such news fuels public outrage. It also illustrates how the authorities are trying to justify the inaction that enabled Gruevski to flee in the first place, by repeatedly referring to procedural steps and regulations that apparently did not give them room to act and prevent the escape of a convicted criminal. Saved by bureaucracy, if you will. How did it come to this? Unsurprisingly, Gruevski had used up all options for appeal to try to delay going to prison. The court initially said he needed to report to prison on November 8. But since Gruevski had one more appeal pending, on November 6, the deadline was moved to allow time for the court to decide on this. On November 9, the court ruled against the last appeal and accordingly he had to report to prison as soon as he received notice from a court courier. That day, the courier made three unsuccessful attempts to deliver the notice, as Gruevski was not at home.

But here comes the fun part. As court couriers work only from Monday to Friday and not on weekends, after that final failed attempt on Friday night, Gruevski was off the hook until the following Monday. Logic dictates that the police should now have stepped in. Wrong. The security detail that the police had provided for Gruevski was reportedly with him only when he requested its presence. The end result was that by the time the media and police knocked on his apartment door again on Monday, Gruevski was long gone. The courts say this is not their fault, as the prosecution did not seek detention; the prosecution says there were no signs that he was about to flee, so no request was submitted for detention; the police say the courts did not ask them to secure Gruevski’s availability until Monday. They also say they bear no responsibility as he did not exit the country through a legal border crossing – which in turn begs the question of whether the police are actually in control of the country’s borders, besides legal crossings.

No wonder Hungary is now mocking Macedonia by offering to send border patrol officers to help it prevent illegal border crossings. Make no mistake; the excuse that Macedonian institutions are great sticklers for procedures does not apply to ordinary people. Had this been anyone else, the police would have nabbed them and sent them to jail in no time. Notably, two of Gruevski’s associates – who are on trial but unlike him not yet convicted – were swiftly moved to detention early on Wednesday, with police citing evidence that they were about to flee the country. Oddly, no such evidence came to light about Gruevski’s getaway plans. In retrospect, there were more than a few signs of what Gruevski was up to. In August, Fokus magazine published a front-page story warning that he was preparing to flee to Hungary. His close relationship to Hungarian leader Viktor Orban was also no secret; the two of them have for years perfected the art of running illiberal regimes, featuring crackdowns on the media and NGOs as well as furious attacks on the liberal philanthropist George Soros. In addition, no alarm bells rang last week when the state commission against discrimination, manned by Gruevski appointees, issued an opinion that Gruevski had been deprived of his right to a fair trial and discriminated against – a ruling that will come in handy in his request for asylum in Hungary. He may also now make use of the press conferences he regularly held in parliament, where he elaborated on how he had become a victim of the new government. It all reinforces a perception of gross incompetence on the part of different institutions, the police especially. No procedure or rule should have prevented the police from keeping an eye on his movements, from guarding exits from the capital and many other steps that both the police and intelligence agencies could and should have taken when it comes to such a high-profile felon. To top it all, a international arrest warrant was issued only after he declared he was in Budapest. As we learn new details about Gruevski’s travel route from police in Albania and Montenegro, it is clear that an arrest warrant would have prevented such an easy stroll with his ID across state borders. The inability to do any of this brings to the fore theories that the Macedonian authorities in fact let Gruevski escape. Why would they do that? For one, the now ruling Social Democrats may have decided that it was better to let a cowardly criminal escape and leave all his associates and followers in a mess than have a self-styled patriotic martyr rotting in jail – and possibly staging a political comeback. At the same time, Gruevski’s getaway additionally weakens the already fragile opposition VMRO-DPMNE and undermines it at a time when it is fiercely opposing the constitutional amendments needed to end the long-standing dispute with Greece over Macedonia’s name. The recent support that the government got from eight VMRO-DPMNE MPs in parliament for the “name” agreement can only fuel suspicions that the government has struck some sort of amnesty deal; Gruevski’s escape only reinforces that hunch. Whatever the true background and circumstances of Gruevski’s escape, it will cast a long shadow over Macedonia’s government, adding to concerns that it is continuing the long established practice of selective justice – the same habits that brought down Gruevski’s government in the first place.

The opinions expressed in the Comment section are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of BIRN.