Maksim Dimitrievski said ZNAM would remain part of the government and the parliamentary majority as long as the basic principles of the agreement reached with its government partner VMRO-DPMNE are respected. Regarding the Law on the Bar Exam, he said he had asked the prime minister to hold a meeting of government leaders in December.
Appearing on the “Samo vistina” program on Kanal 5, the leader of ZNAM described his cooperation with the prime minister so far as very good and satisfactory.
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“We have always found common ground when it comes to aligning our policies. I believe we will continue to focus on what matters most to us: implementing the government program and improving citizens’ lives,” Dimitrievski said.
Regarding the law that has been referred to the Venice Commission for assessment, he said ZNAM would oppose such a solution in Parliament, whether the party was in government or in opposition.
Dimitrievski said the prime minister had informed him of the steps he intended to take, and that some had already been implemented, even though ZNAM abstained or did not support the relevant decision at a government meeting.
He described Minister Jeton Shasivari’s proposal as a hybrid solution and reiterated that ZNAM had made its position clear.
“We were unable to convince the prime minister, but he told me what he plans to do. The procedures can legally continue. Some mono-ethnic political entities, particularly the government partner VLEN, portrayed the situation as a triumph, even though the law was not adopted. The government reviewed the information, drew several conclusions and forwarded the proposal to the Venice Commission for an opinion. Once the commission has given its view, we will consider the arguments and facts,” he explained.
Dimitrievski said he did not expect the Venice Commission to give a positive assessment, but stressed that its opinion was not binding.
“We ourselves requested the commission’s opinion, and we will receive an appropriate interpretation. In its 2019 positions, the commission explicitly notes that using a language other than Macedonian further complicates the work of the judiciary and proceedings in the competent courts. I believe such a legal solution would lead us in Macedonia to divide cases into ‘ours’ and ‘yours’, and to create courts and judges that adjudicate in Macedonian or Albanian. In Macedonia, trials are conducted in Macedonian; in Albania and Kosovo, where Albanian is an official language, they are conducted in Albanian. In Serbia, they are conducted in Serbian. Find an example in Europe of a parliamentary republic where the professional exam must be taken in a language that is not official,” Dimitrievski said.
Speaking about the possibility of leaving the governing coalition, which ZNAM has described as a red line on this issue, Dimitrievski said the party was guided by the need for the state to function and for the rule of law to be respected.
“Compromises can be made in politics, but not on the rule of law and its implementation. There are written rules that must be respected. Under the Constitution and the law currently in force, such an option does not exist at present,” he said.
Dimitrievski said a broad public debate should take place before any decision, including representatives of the academic community.
“If these principles are not respected, we will reconsider our role in government as a coalition partner. I believe a leaders’ meeting will be held in December; I asked the prime minister for one. So far, we have not sat down with our government partners to discuss this issue, apart from the general meeting that I did not attend. I do not want merely to be informed; I want to be consulted, and I want myself and ZNAM to be part of the solution,” he said.
According to Dimitrievski, this is not an artificially created crisis. He added that Hristijan Mickoski could call early elections as soon as tomorrow if he wished.
