On Monday, SDSM again alleged the investigation into the Kocani fire had been selective.
“Institutions of prosecution have been held hostage by PM Hristijan Mickoski, who has since the first day obstructed the investigation to save himself. The Prosecutor’s Office and Mickoski have to answer why an investigation hasn’t so far been launched against Marija Cvetkovska Manevska, who was the Chief of the Kocani Internal Affairs Department when the fire happened”, the party stated.
According to SDSM, Cvetkovska Manevska was handpicked by Interior Minister Pance Toskovski to be the Kocani Department Chief in the frames of the caretaker cabinet, which means she’d held office for more than a year prior to the fire.
In that regard, SDSM asked, “Why hasn’t Marija Cvetkovska Manevska been held to account about the closed door of the Pulse nightclub, an act that cut precious seconds to save many lives? How is it possible for Cvetkovska Manevska, in the capacity of Chief, not to have information that an order in contradiction with standard operating procedure had been issued and was being implemented at the Department headed by herself?
Is she being protected only because she’s a member of VMRO-DPMNE and there are photos of her and former and current officials of VMRO-DPMNE, as in the case with Dragan ‘Kazak’ Petrusev? Is it true that the person responsible for the area in Kocani in which the Pulse disco was located had sent several months prior to the fire an official note to his superiors, including Cvetkovska Manevska, that the disco’s operations were not according to the law?”.