English
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski announced today that, due to the sensitivity of the situation in the aftermath of the Kocani nightclub disaster, he is suspending the process to remove chief state prosecutor Ljupco Kocevski. The Government initiated his removal weeks ago, citing his unsatisfactory work in the fight against crime and corruption.
Due to the active work of the prosecutors, which has led to charges being filed against three dozen local and state officials and the nightclub owners, Prime Minister Mickoski said that at the moment it will be best if Kocevski remains as state prosecutor.
Citizens should rest assured that justice is coming, regardless whether the person is part of a political structure or not, Mickoski said.
He also announced a grace period in which owners of nightclubs across the country will be given time to correct failures in their facilities, before their licenses will be revoked. A massive campaign to inspect such facilities is on-going across the country.
The Prime Minister also dismissed allegations from the DUI party, which had a number of its officials charged over the Kocani fire and in other corruption cases. “Instead of actively joining the investigation and helping us, they are trying to politicize and give an ethnic dimension to the problem, surreptitiously scoring political points. We will continue to fight against such deviant behavior, we will investigate everything, we will open every case from the past. DUI has been part of the system for 20 years and the least they can do is give an apology to the citizens”, Mickoski added.
