In an interview with a Serbian TV station, Nikola Gruevski says that he considers the on-going political persecution of the opposition in Macedonia to be a serious political problem and a source of shame for the country. Hundreds of officials and activists of the conservative VMRO-DPMNE party are facing criminal charges initiated by the Zaev led Government since the days of the Colored Revolution and after Zaev’s take over of power in 2017.

We are faced with a serious political problem. I don’t know how the Government can keep talking about a functional democracy there, Gruevski said, adding that this is not the first time that politicians fighting for an independent Macedonia were forced to flee the country due to pressures and persecution initiated by neighboring countries.

Gruevski said that in Hungary, where he sought and received a political asylum, he can continue to work without fear of arbitrary arrest.