SkopjeDiem Macedonia in English
PM Zoran Zaev voiced deep disappointment with the fact that former UBK Head and Target-Fortress case defendant Saso Mijalkov is currently on the run and that the organs of prosecution and justice are unable to locate and apprehend him. “The citizens hope for and expect justice, effective justice. I am deeply disappointed that Mijalkov is not found and arrested yet. I ask the institutions to act upon this matter in accordance with their duties and authorisations, and I hope that he will be apprehended and will face responsibility. I also hope that an investigation will be conducted within the Interior Ministry in order to determine whether there are mistakes made in the working of the Ministry concerning this case. Responsibility must be located, and everyone who has committed crime and is proven guilty must face justice,” Zaev said. President Stevo Pendarovski said that a country which pretends to become an EU member-state must not allow such mistakes in the work of the Interior Ministry concerning the apprehending of convicts. “Events like this one seriously damage the country’s reputation and efforts for integration in the EU and the credibility in the reform implementation processes. I hope the institutions will resolve this case successfully, because this is the second case of an escape from justice we are facing, after the one of former PM Nikola Gruevski,” Pendarovski said. From VMRO-DPMNE they accused the government of striking an alleged agreement with Mijalkov to allow him to escape justice, and expect the authorities to find and apprehend Mijalkov in the following 24 hours. “This is the culmination of the criminal alliance between Zoran Zaev, his brother Vice and Saso Mijalkov. We were aware about this criminal gang three years ago when we excluded Mijalkov from our party. His escape is the award by Zoran Zaev and SDSM for his cooperation for destruction and defiling of the Macedonian ethnic and national identity. Hence, we do not expect the current government to apprehend Mijalkov,” said Aleksandar Nikolovski from VMRO-DPMNE. From SDSM they reacted to Nikolovski’s statements. “Nikolovski and his party leader, Hristijan Mickoski, finally admitted it all, that their mentors Nikola Gruevski and Saso Mijalkov conducted the massive operation for wire-tapping of phone communications of thousands of citizens. Having this in mind, Nikolovski and Mickoski should apologise to the public for calling the cases against their mentors politically motivated and framed,” writes the reaction of SDSM. BESA leader Bilall Kasami also said that his party will demand responsibility from Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski about alleged errors in the work of the Interior Ministry which may have allowed Mijalkov’s escape.
