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Reactions continue in Skopje over “controversial” positions expressed by North Macedonia’s Prime Minister and leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party (SDSM), Zoran Zaef, in an interview with a Bulgarian news agency during a press conference. The Second World War in the region of present-day North Macedonia and its claims that the former Yugoslavia “divided” the peoples of Bulgaria and their country.
The most “resounding” reaction came from the SDSM’s “holy image”, Branko Crvenkovski.
The veteran leader of the SDSM, former prime minister and president of the country, in an open letter to the party members, requests the convocation of the Central Committee of the SDSM, where it will be decided, according to him, that the positions expressed by Zoran Zaef do not reflect the positions of the party.
In this letter, Branko Crvenkovski initially states that for the past seven years he has consciously avoided taking a position on public events in the country and would have continued to do so “had it not been for the scandalous interview of our prime minister and party chairman, Zoran. “. .
Branko Crvenkovski says that the opinions and positions expressed by Zoran Zaef in this interview – in the Bulgarian news agency Bgnes – have caused and will cause long-term consequences for the people and the country.
Huge damage
“The damage has been enormous and irreparable. “What can and should be done is to make it clear that Zoran Zaef’s views are not the views of either the government as a whole or the state leadership,” Branko Crvenkovski said.
The former leader of the SDSM, affirms in his letter that until such a meeting of the Central Committee of the party, he himself, as a founding member and for many years president of the SDSM, suspends his status as a member of the party.
Branko Crvenkovski was the then Prime Minister of Macedonia from 1992-1998 and 2002-2004, as well as President of the country from 2004-2009. He remained the leader of the SDSM for many years, when he resigned in 2013 and was replaced by Zoran Zaef.
The SDSM, in a statement, rejected Branko Crvenkovski’s request for the immediate convocation of the party’s Central Committee and points out that the positions expressed by the faction leader Zoran Zaef are also party positions.
“Let the citizens judge the letter of the former president, Branko Crvenkovski, after many years of silence and lack of position on important state or national issues. “Members and citizens of the SDSM will judge whether Branko Crvenkovski’s attitude towards his party and its members is correct or not,” Zoran Zaef’s party said in a statement.
The interview in question
The Prime Minister of North Macedonia, in an interview yesterday with the Bulgarian news agency Bgnes, referring to the presence of Bulgarian troops in the period 1941-1944 in the region of present-day North Macedonia, stated that at the beginning of that period, Bulgaria “exercised Towards the end of the Second World War joined the anti-fascist forces and contributed to the liberation of many areas of present-day North Macedonia.
These views by Zoran Zaef sparked a storm of reactions from almost all sides in Skopje, as the country’s prime minister avoided referring to the “Bulgarian fascist occupation” at the time and the partisans’ struggle to liberate the region from occupation. . cash.
The Bulgarian occupation of the territories of present-day North Macedonia during World War II was the result of Bulgaria’s cooperation with the Axis powers during their attack on what was then Yugoslavia.
Zoran Zaef also claimed that the former Yugoslavia, for a long time, kept the Bulgarian people and the people of their country away.
These statements by Zoran Zaef were condemned, among others, by the North Macedonia Veterans Warriors Union, which fought on the side of the partisans against the occupying forces.
On the contrary, these positions expressed by Zoran Zaef seem to have received a positive response in Sofia. Bulgarian Defense Minister and leader of the nationalist VMRO-BND party, Krasimir Karakatsanov, commenting on what Zoran Zaef said in the interview, said that “this is a small step forward, but in the right direction.” However, he added that Sofia is asking Skopje for written guarantees, not just statements.
Source: AMPE
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