Macedonian MPs Deny Seeking EU Protection

Opposition raised the issue in parliament

Several of the MPs alleged to have signed the letter dismissed reports, published on Monday, which claimed that that six of them recently sent a letter to the EU delegation in Skopje in which they said the ruling party was blackmailing them to ensure they stayed loyal.

“This is a politically constructed lie by the opposition,” Mihailo Dzolonga, one of the six MPs told Balkan Insight. Dzolonga denies ever writing or signing such a letter, adding that his party has never attempted to blackmail him in exchange for his loyalty.

According to the original source, a Facebook post by local freelance Journalist Zoran Bozinovski, the VMRO DPMNE parliamentarians were forced to sign blank resignation forms that could be activated if they chose to leave the party.

On their official entry to parliament, after the June 5 election, they were also allegedly forced to sign bank cheques of 500,000 euros as another guarantee that they will stay loyal.

“This is speculation”, Slave Goshev, another MP linked to the affair, told Balkan Insight.

Slave Goshev of VMRO DPMNE denied his party ever blackmailed him

Macedonia's main opposition Social Democrats were quick to run with the allegations.

At a parliament session on Monday they demanded to know whether such a letter existed, to which MPs from the ruling coalition did not reply.

Bozinovski stands by his story, saying he obtained the information from a source who allegedly acted as “the middleman” between the MPs and the EU office in Skopje.

“The most disturbing thing is that people [in the June 5 election] voted for legislators who are forced into allegiance to their party leader,” Bozinovski told Balkan Insight.

He said his source told him that the letter was signed at a secret location in Skopje one month ago and that more MPs had originally planned to sign it, but then changed their minds at the last minute.
 
Among those who allegedly changed their minds, media reports said, was the former Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki who quit in June “for family reasons”. Milososki was seen as one of Gruevski’s most trusted associates.

The EU office in Skopje was not available for comment on Tuesday as it was closed for Ramadan, a national holiday in multi-faith Macedonia.