Macedonia: Liberal Leader Goran Milevski on the Current Political Situation

(2015) The political situation in Macedonia is becoming more and more unstable and the country is in danger of becoming an absolute dictatorship. Liberals cannot and will not accept any authoritarian practices in the heart of Europe. A delegation of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation Southeast Europe recently attended the party congress of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Skopje, where Goran Milevski had just been elected as the new party president. After his election, Mr Milevski spoke with the FNF team about the current situation in Macedonia. 

-Mr Milevski, thanks a lot for your time and consideration. Unfortunately, the worsening domestic policy situation in Macedonia remains widely unnoticed in other parts of Europe. Could you provide us with an overview of current developments and explain what triggered the whole scenario?

G. Milevski: The current government’s lack of democratic capacity is the main reason for the worsening situation in Macedonia. Freedom of the press is at its lowest level in our country’s history. In addition, there have been political arrests, of both opposition politicians and of journalists who have been reporting on political competitors. Any citizen´s actions that might be understood as disloyal evoke grave counter reactions by the government. The counter reactions also target those state administration employees who deviate, however slightly, from VMRO-DPMNE´s primary positions (Note: VMRO-DPMNE is the ruling, right-wing party). Being on the tip of the iceberg, Mr Zaev (Note: Zoran Zaev is the leader of the Social Democratic Union party in Macedonia) has published documents called “The truth for Macedonia”. They provide credible evidence of wire-tapping by the government. 

-One can read about Gruevski´s numerous authoritarian practices. Could you explain how you organise your work in these days? How do liberals respond to that?

G. Milevski: As already stated, published materials are proof of governmental influence in the judicial system, affecting judicial decisions and official appointments. Furthermore, material proof of electoral abuse has exposed the totality of the unacceptable undemocratic practices of the government. Needless to say, the conditions for liberal democratic ideas, which we really desire to promote in our society, could not be any worse. 

The LDP will do all it can to contribute towards the liberal democratic development of Macedonia. For instance, we are planning to change the legislative framework in order to guarantee a free and open media system because during the last couple of years, the media has been seized as a hostage by the government. Along with that, the link between public administration and (the “right”) party affiliation absolutely needs to be cut.

-The EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, has recently been to Skopje to form his own opinion about the situation. If you had had the possibility to talk to him, what would you have said?

G. Milevski: I personally would have advised him to take his time, to make up his own mind and to take his own observations into consideration. He should stay open-minded and keep carefully following the process. Neither you nor we can bear or allow a dictatorial regime in the heart of Europe. I firmly believe that this is not what the European Union wants in a candidate for EU membership and strongly hope for an appropriate response from the international community.

-Assuming that the European continent stands for a liberal democratic system, one can hardly accept that an authoritarian system in the heart of the continent could survive any longer. How do you evaluate the international interest in the current situation (and the support from other European countries and EU-institutions)?

G. Milevski: The current interest of the EU has been highly appreciated, especially since the last visit of the EU Commissionaire for Enlargement, Mr. Hahn. He talked with almost every party involved in the whole process. The government is constantly being “protected” by the EPP and words of praise and support are coming also from the PES in the European Parliament

For now, the only thing we can do is to keep our associated sister parties up to date about the happenings here. The current statements by the EU officials are very implicit and rather indirect. In the upcoming weeks, clear and unambiguous evidence will come to light, which will draw the attention of the international community. 

-During the last few weeks, evidence about Gruevski´s authoritarian practices has been published little by little. Has the so-called “bomb” already detonated? What can we expect in the upcoming weeks? What possible steps will the Liberal Party undertake?

G. Milevski: The bomb’s fuse is lit. Let´s put it that way - the groundwork for the detonation of the “bomb” is done. As already mentioned, more sensitive material will be published soon and the “bomb” is going to explode. I apologize, but as part of the opposition coalition against the current government, I have to put a lid on the next steps. And despite the lack of national Macedonian media coverage, we are very well covered on a regional level. One thing I am allowed to say is that you will get to know about the very undemocratic and disgusting actions of the ruling clan, which have already been practiced for a decade now. 

Mr Goran Milevski was born in Bitola, a city in south-west Macedonia. He holds a BA degree in International Economy from the Faculty of Economics in Prilep, Republic of Macedonia. Currently, he is working on his Master`s thesis on the topic “Small and medium-sized enterprises with an emphasis on the Bitola region” at the Faculty of Economics in Prilep. From 2004 to 2014, Mr Milevski worked as a professor at Bitola’s “Jane Sandanski” High School, teaching classes on economics. In 2014, he was elected a MP in the National Assembly (due to a decision by his coalition, his resignation is now pending along with those of all other opposition MPs). Mr. Milevski has been an active member of the Liberal Democratic Party since 2000, when he was elected vice-president of the Liberal Democratic Youth in Macedonia. Since then, he has served two terms as Secretary General for the LDP Youth, and also two terms as president, from 2006-2008 and from 2008-2010. He has been a member of the LDP’s executive board since 2007. Mr. Milevski was named vice-president of the party in 2013 and recently, the president of the Liberal Democratic Party.