Telegraf.mk's news portal has published the third part of the mega-interview conducted with VMRO-DPMNE leader Nikola Gruevski, where he refers to the Special Prosecutor's Office and whether or not he is afraid of its work, whether he expects investigations and charges against him personally.
Gruevski also talks about the decision of the Constitutional Court related to the parliamentary elections, and the expectations linked to the prospect of holding the general elections on June 5. The president of the VMRO-DPMNE ruling party, also talks about the pardoning decision of Chief of state, Gjorge Ivanov.
In the interview, Gruevski re-activated the proposal put forward by his party last August concerning the active registration of voters in the country, meaning those individuals who are willing to cast ballots should register on their own at the relevant authority.
T: You talked about the work of the Special Prosecutor's Office and the methods it uses. Do you believe it will continue to act in the same manner in future?
"Not only it will continue like this, it will certainly become stronger. Zaev is not pleased with the SPO. So far, the SPO hasn't succeed in convincing the people in what he didn't succeed in doing last year with the 'bombs', the public support for VMRO-DPMNE continues to grow, instead of to decline."
T: Are you afraid of the Special Prosecutor's Office?
"I haven't noticed fear with anyone from the fact that the SPO was established, which needs to investigate what has happened in certain situations of their work. That has encouraged me and it confirmed to me that the people were really working with dedication and honesty. But when the methods they started using become visible, and which I mentioned just earlier, it is normal concerns to arise with people who are targeted by SPO and SDSM, but also with the others who follow the process.
But soon after, with the bulk of those people, the concern and the fear from unprofessional and biased work by the SPO employees has gone away, after we had talked and realized that they can't succeed with these methods. Maybe someone still fears that by abusing the positions they will harm him, but many of us consider these people who used these methods a book well read, who act with hatred and party motifs, which will only make us stronger.
In fact, the aim of the SPO people, among others, was to introduce fear. I think they haven't read our history, or have a solid knowledge of our religion. And least of all, us personally. Or they have a completely wrong perception about us or they want to think that way because of personal party motifs".
T: Do you think they will launch investigations and charges against You personally?
"Of course, when the people who work there are politically motivated, I'm their main target as the president of the party that SDSM can't beat for more than 10 years".
They will badger or are already badgering a ton of people in order to intimidate them or put them [in prison], so they could use them as false witnesses against me. Press conferences will follow at which they will be foaming at the mouth to present me as an evil person, a criminal, anti-democrat, deceiver, etc. They will try to use all their methods.
They won't succeed. On the contrary, they will witness an opposite effect. Their steps have been seen through. One day, they will be ashamed of that. And again, during the next elections, whenever they are held, SDSM will lose, and VMRO-DPMNE will win the trust, and stronger than what it would have won now".
T: Do you believe that after a certain period of time, many things will become clearer, or the situations will be additionally burdened?
"I'm certain in me and in what I have done and worked on. Because I believe that justice always wins. I'm not a person who wants to leave doubts on anything, because I believe in honesty and I know what it means".
I am ready to be set up, even eliminated
"When I entered politics, I knew I was entering politics and not some ballet performance, I knew the methods of many politicians who were attacked during their careers, and I was and still am, ready for everything, in terms of being attacked. For all sorts of blows and challenges. For every kind of sneaky set ups and accusations, including my personal elimination.
I've always worked honestly and I'm convinced in that. Everyone makes mistakes, but strategic mistakes, or mistakes in order to abuse or profit financially, there weren't any. Let's not forget, when VMRO-DPMNE assumed power, Macedonia was on the 105th place in terms of the corruption perception in the world, according to Transparency International. We made the fight against corruption our priority, and now we are on the 66th place, above some EU member states or NATO, for instance. Therefore, the attempt to twist the theses, to switch the roles, doesn't hold water. That's why I'm certain in me.
I'm a person of strong will and faith in what I do. I will overcome this challenge as well."
T: What victory would you have expected, provided the June 5 elections were to be held then?
"According to all surveys it would have been similar to that of the 2014 elections. It would have been a strong answer to all the lies that we had stolen 150,000 votes, and similar nebulousness. But the more the crisis and the elections are prolonged, the more the people's anger will grow, and their loss will be greater.
T: What happened with the electoral roll, this was the topic subjected to many debates?
"When it comes to the electoral rolls, and the manipulations that they have not been purged, I will remind you that last August VMRO-DPMNE offered the co-called 'active voter registration'. This means, in order to avoid dilemmas and doubts, by changing a law, to start from the notion that no one will be listed on the electoral roll, and that everyone who wishes to vote would get 2-3 months to register, using an identification document, personal ID, passport, or biometrical data.
The same proposal once again - whoever wants to vote, to register by himself
I will reaffirm it now. If they agree, we can conduct it. For example, between July 1- September 15, or January 15, everyone who would want to vote would go to one of the legally appointed offices across Macedonia, and register and sign for voting, and leave an electronic fingerprint. Later on, only those who have registered would be able to vote.
The registration, apart from Macedonia, would be available in all Macedonian embassies in the world, so we would allow the diaspora, including those who are unable to return to Macedonia during the summer, when they mostly return, to register in the embassy or consulate, sign where they would vote, in Macedonia, or the country they live in, or stay.
When voting they would place their finger over the electronic device to check their identity. If anyone claims they have troubles with the internet, I would answer that the checks can also be carried out offline. Each electoral office would already have the registered voters' electronic fingerprints. During the registration process SEC [State Election Commission] would conduct an informative campaign via the media, and would send written letters to the home address to each voter regarding the possibility to register for voting.
Voting in the US is carried out by active registration. Why wouldn't that be the case in Macedonia? We would not have a more fair voting procedure and a more purged electoral roll than this. The issue is not the electoral roll, but rather not having the people's support and thus the need to find excuses to postpone the elections. Had they accepted it in August last year, the active registration would have been over by January. But how would they have postponed the April 24 elections then?
T: What are your next steps, and what are theirs?
"If I am to give a short answer, I would say, we will build and create, make reforms, solve problems, we will fight for this country to move forward. They will continue to deny and slander everything, call us criminals at every press conference. You know how it is, when a thief says 'hold the thief'.
They will wait for the SPO to start investigations and file charges against us, to drag us around courts, attempting to persuade the people that we really are criminals. They will resume the destructions, protests with paid protesters and vandalism, which will only deepen the destruction. In the end, when the elections come, which they will not be able to avoid, they will see how wrong they were.
T: Last week, there have been some frenetic, unexpected events. Wednesday was especially exciting. How do you see the development of the political events so far, and in the future?
"Yes, the Constitutional Court's ruling was not in the direction of our activities and expectancies, but we have accepted it since it is a court's verdict and we practically had no choice. We have been surprised by the change of the DUI and DPA decisions regarding their participation in the elections, and the fact they left us alone as a 21-party coalition to partake the elections.
Although from a total of 55 registered parties in the country, our coalition has 21 parties in total, which is almost half of the parties, still we were not content with having only one list, only one offer for the voters. At the end of the day, it's bad for the image of the country. So we were thinking, and then I stated, we are prepared, right after the June 5 elections to hold another round of election, to give the voters another choice.
Still, following the Constitutional Court's verdict, the Parliament was reconvened. We adopted the several laws we proposed in the work groups before the first postponing of the elections in February.
In the following period, if there is enough time until elections, we will dedicate ourselves to the European agenda, the urgent priority reforms, and the legal solutions in the Parliament to improve the citizens' life quality.
T: You have shown both understanding and disagreement toward the President's abolition decision.
"Yes, and we have cleared that up. We showed understanding because we believe his intentions were good, just as he explained in his statements. He intended for a reconciliation and bringing an end to the political crisis. We disagreed with the decision because it somehow put us in the same corner with people who have committed criminal acts, for which there is legally obtained evidence. And because these very people cannot stop using the word 'criminals' in describing us, while they are the true criminals. They are people who have been abolished for committing crimes once again. We have been put in the same corner with people who have been allocating tenders in municipalities where their relatives and party associates are in power.
Ivanov Was Guided by State Interest
I know President Ivanov very well and I know that he is a man who puts the interest of the state and its people above all personal interests and he is ready to undertake personal risks just to see the country advance. I have no doubt that the decision was a move intended to protect the state's interest. I believe in everything he stated in his explanation and I believe he meant everything he said. He really wants to accomplish a reconciliation, which would be in the interest of the state.
If he looked out only for his own interest and not the state's, he would have kept quiet and he would have remained an observer because his mediation attempt was declined by SDSM anyway.
And finally, when we make a decision about something big, we forget that all big decisions are valued after a period of time passes by. Maybe after 3, 5, or 10 years, his decision and attempt at reconciliation will be viewed differently, while many will view their insults against him as expressions of personal shortsightedness and weakness.
T: Zaev has said that you have undertaken one-sided steps again and that you would ultimately do as he asks.
"Firstly, he has reduced his political battle to fighting with me, while he fails to focus his energy on a platform for a better Macedonia. He is full of anger and frustrations toward me. That is why he keeps losing. No matter what a man full of hate does, it always ends up with no success. He is guided by hate, from which he cannot free himself. And he will not. The hate is stronger than him.
On the other hand, I am guided by: the ideology of my party, a desire for the success of my country, a desire for new employments, new investments, higher salaries, pensions, subventions, road investments, youth housing projects, work, and the desire for people to have a happy life in Macedonia.
We believe in values, not in hatred like SDSM does
Apart from focusing on realizing projects, deeds and reforms, our party's ideology is founded on notions like nation, traditions, values, a value system, family, property protection, support for the poor, helping entrepreneurs, individualism, people's happiness, state interest, integrity of individual, integrity of the nation, education, patriotism, the nation's history, future, common goals, etc.
Our ideology is connected to our party's name and with history. That enrooted feeling of this ideology is especially important in a time of crisis when it becomes the binding matter, especially among those that are in the party due to ideological reasons.
When you believe in certain values and you follow a certain ideology, then you are ready to undertake great risks. You can fall from power, but you will have the strength to try again and succeed. This is what SDSM membership is lacking, or if it is present, then it is in a minor form. They are guided exclusively by personal interest and desire for power, for which they are ready to do anything, to form alliances with anyone. They are up for anything, including anti-state activities. This is what usually leads them down the abyss. This is why all sorts of groups, who cannot identify each other, get infiltrated there.