English
The ZNAM Movement will not accept the administration of the judicial exam in any language other than Macedonian; should the Government decide otherwise, the party is prepared to leave the governing coalition, stated party leader Maksim Dimitrievski in an interview with “Sitel” yesterday. He added that Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski is aware of ZNAM’s position on this issue, though the party remains open to discussions within the framework of the governing coalition.
“At my next meeting with the Prime Minister, I will request a leaders’ meeting. We have never held an open discussion on this matter with our government partners to define our ‘red lines’ and to assess the future implications for the state and our entire judicial system,” said the president of the ZNAM Movement.
According to him, the issue of the judicial exam is not an isolated case; rather, it touches upon broader aspects of how the judicial system functions and the very structure of the state. He believes that the demands to expand the use of the Albanian language in this sphere are driven by wider political objectives. In this context, he suggested that there are forces within the country that aim to transform the state into a confederation.
“Macedonia is a republic, yet, unfortunately, there are forces in the country that wish to see it become a confederation one day.” Certain individuals consistently emerge, calling for expanded rights and the association of local communities—but on an ethnic, rather than a territorial, basis. Furthermore, following the local elections in Brvenica, a former leader of an Albanian political party declared, “It is time to proclaim Ilirida.” Macedonia cannot function as a straightforward state—a republic—if the advancement of specific rights for certain ethnic communities is interpreted as a foundational, constitutional prerogative intended to further complicate the state’s structure. “This simplifies matters for only a small group of citizens—who are, nonetheless, an integral part of the state—while simultaneously complicating the entire process for everyone else,” stated Dimitrievski.
The demand to allow the judicial examination to be taken in the Albanian language—a proposal which, according to Dimitrievski, is being “presented to the public in a very naive manner”—runs counter to the 2019 recommendations of the Venice Commission regarding the use of languages other than Macedonian within the judicial system. Such a move, he warns, would have profound consequences for the actual functioning of the country’s judiciary. Although he stated that he is not opposed to the use of the languages of minority ethnic communities—citing Kumanovo as an example of the use of multiple languages in the work of the Municipal Council—Dimitrievski added that neither he nor the party he leads will allow for “further complication of the state.”