Written declaration No. 593 | Doc. 13774 rev 2 | 26 May 2015
The attempt at undemocratic seizure of power in Macedonia {According to Resolution (95) 23 of the Committee of Ministers, for all purposes within the Council of Europe, this State is provisionally referred to as “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” pending settlement of the difference which has arisen over the name of this State.}
We express our concern about the latest developments in the political situation in Macedonia, specifically as regards the irresponsible behaviour of the political opposition.
We support the integration of Macedonia in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and state that Euro-Atlantic integration is the joint responsibility of both the government and opposition parties.
We state that the Macedonian parliamentary elections were free and fair, as reports by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe state.
We condemn:
- the threats by Zoran Zaev, President of the Social Democrat Union of Macedonia, to the Prime Minister, Nikola Gruevski;
- the involvement of foreign secret services in illegal tapping of phone calls of the highest political officials of Macedonia.
We state that only political arguments and programmes based on the vote of the citizens are the democratic way to win elections.
We ask for:
- restored political dialogue and responsible acts by the opposition, including the return to parliament of the opposition MPs to make full use of their parliamentary mandates;
- free and independent court trials, with the highest European standards and a transparent procedure.
We underline the importance of political dialogue in resolving conflicts and call for a responsible political opposition in Macedonia observing the democratic rules of the political system.