Counterspin: Levica Is Not against EU Membership just Formally, but also Essentially

“Not in the EU at any cost” especially due to “the tectonic geo-political changes“ and because of “the lost of integrity and sovereignty of the country” with all of the agreements achieved up to date. Those are the words of the Presidium member of Levica, Jovana Mojsoska. If the alternative is not identified clearly – that, indeed, there is always an alternative – Levica is twisting the truth when claiming that it is just an anti-NATO, but not an anti-EU party. The thesis that “such an alternative” does not threaten the peace and integrity of the country is untrue. That means disrupting processes for at least two and a half decades and fully distancing ourselves from the EU

 

Author: Teofil Blazevski

 

In the video-interview for “Sloboden Pecat” (Free Press), responding to the question whether they are an anti-European party, as frequently accused by both SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE, the member of the Presidium of Levica, Jovana Mojsoska elaborated party opinions that were further on spinned:

Spin: We have been claiming for a long time that there are no Euro-Atlantic integrations; there are European and there are Atlantic integrations… although lately we are seeing how EU is becoming hostage to NATO interests. Even there are attempts – especially France – not to depend on the security of NATO, i.e., Europe to create its own security forces. We are absolutely against NATO. That is stated in the statute of every left-wing party in the World. NATO outgrew the time for which it was created. We are for the EU, but not at any cost, especially due to the tectonic geo-political changes. We cannot say that there are no other alternatives, especially since experience has proved that every rapproachment toward those Euro-Atlantic integrations meant degrading the integrety and sovereignty of the country. Start with 1995, followed by the Framework Agreement, then Prespa Agreement… And when we said that all open issues were encompassed within the Prespa Agreement and when Pendarovski assured us that no open issues were at stake – we come to 2022 so that Bulgaria – the defeated party in the Second World War – is now blackmailing us. From that point of view, I will not agree that there are no alternatives… (from 7.30 min. until 9.17 min.)

[Source:SP/Utrinski Pecat – J. Mojsoska– date: 07.02.2023]

Counterspin: Jovana Mojsoska, member of the management of the Parliamentary party Levica, communicated to the public that the party was in favour of EU membership – and therefore Levica was not an anti-European party – but not at any cost due to two reasons: ”tectonic changes in the geo-political order” and the damage done by all the agreements signed by Macedonia up to date for the sake of Euro-Atlantic integration that had an impact on the ”sovereignty and integrity of the state”. Stressing these two general reasons is twisting the truth i.e. a spin.

First, in the period following the independence of Macedonia, after the Referendum from 8^th September 1990, the establishment of the first Government and Parliament in 1991 and everything else that followed, the World, and especially Europe were involved in difficult and turbulent processes and events that – just like today – can be called ”tectonic changes of the geo-political order”. From the fall of the Berlin wall and Germany’s unification, the disintegration /self-dismantling of the USSR, to the biggest war in Europe –the war(s) in former Yugoslavia (up to the one in Ukraine now), its disintegration, through the Dayton Peace Process in 1995 and the war NATO-FR Yugoslavia from 1999, followed by the brief civil military conflict / clash in Macedonia in 2001, etc.

Ever since, tectonic geo-political processes can be noted up to date on other continents as well , not just in Euro-Asia. Nevertheless, in this two-decade long tectonic geo-political tremble – maybe even longer if we count the Caliphate and the near collapse of Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, the status of Hing Kong etc. – all Parliamentary parties since 1991 until the Elections 2020 when Levica entered the Parliament, with small time fluctuations of two-three parties from 1999-2001, the general politics has always been that the future of the country lies in NATO and EU membership.

And that is not only because of the geographic position of the Republic of North Macedonia, but exactly due to those geo-political changes that conditioned the overall economy, trading relations, natural gravitation towards the people who left Macedonia searching for better living conditions in Europe in the 20 and 21 century, while their aid to the domestic economy through hundreds of millions of Euros of remittances is significant. Hence, to claim that tectonic geo-political processes are one of the reasons for saying “no to the EU at any cost” and for rhetoric, without the slightest dose of philosophical answer that “there is always an alternative”, in actual fact is twisting the truth i.e. a spin.

Levica would remodel and repeal key agreements

This becomes even more clear from the more precise answer of Mojsoska of the question put forward as a hypothetical as to explain the “red lines” of Levica regarding the Ohrid and Prespa Agreements should they come to power tomorrow:

Question:You criticize the Prespa Agreement quite often. You just said that a moment ago, not as Jovana Mojsoska, but as a party, together with the Ohrid Framework Ageeement. Does that mean that those agreements would be amended or repealed should you come into power?

Answer: Absolutely. In practice, these agreements were supposed to secure regional stability and peace, but it proved that they did not do the job. In terms of the Framework Agreement, it proved that after 20 years it remains just a party tool for securing the political power of DUI… Regarding the Prespa Agreement, we all saw how it developed. It was nothing but humiliation, raping democracy and all its principles, handling Members of Parliament convicted for terrorism…. It was raping people’s will on the Referendum that was unsuccessful. And absolutely, every government once it comes to power has a historic duty to remedy this injustice inflicted… it has a duty to implement people’s will as expressed that 30^th September 2018, when the people – loud and clear – said no to EU and NATO at any cost… (from 13.50 min. – to 16.50 min.).

Leaving aside the false claim that the Framework Agreement “is to blame” for turning into a tool abused by DUI, and VMRO-DPMNE, and SDSM, and the other Albanian and Macedonian parties, the fact is that the Ohrid, or the so-called “Framework Agreement” released the negative energy swelling in the Albanian ethnic parties in Macedonia ever since the first Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia from 1991 and the very frequent pro-Serbian, even pro-Russian politics dominating in the country in the period 1991-1998 in relations with the Albanians in the country (following the political methods of Serbia/Russia in terms of abolishing Kosovo’s autonomy).

That Framework Agreement from 2001 taught the citizens of Macedonia to coexist and significantly decreased inter-ethnic tensions. The Framework Agreement and the Constitutional amendments from 2002 maybe brought about unpopular measures such as amnesty, hardship for representatives of the Police and the Army to exercise their legal rights to compensation and paid healthcare treatment, strict application of double-majority voting, employments according to the so-called “balancer” that seems obsolete and needs to be abolished etc. Nevertheless, the big picture is that it contributed to the peace in the country, decreased ethno-chauvinism and generally made both dominant ethnic communities lose interest in settling disputes by means of arms. Apart from that, it strengthened the awareness of the rights of all other minority communities in the country, understanding the importance of non-discrimination on whatever ground, even today when the issue of changing the Constitution of the RNM as to include the Bulgarians therein.

With all weaknesses and legal omissions that could impose a heavy duty for the country to pay very soon with the upcoming judgement of the European Court of Human Rights (Decision announced for 16th February regarding the abolition of the former President G. Ivanov), the same can be said about the Prespa Agreement. With a small note regarding the Referendum 2018 – which was legally “unsuccessful” – that the ballots of those citizens who voted, approximately 650 thousand valid votes out of which more than 90 percent answered Yes, while more than a million refused to cast their vote, automatically meaning that regardless of the reasons, they decided not to use their right to vote.

This, also asymmetrical Agreement, nevertheless – except for the painful change of the name of the Republic of Macedonia into the Republic of North Macedonia, made it possible for the country to become a NATO-member, a commitment of all parliamentary parties since 1993, with the exception of Levica, helped also in the conclusion of the agreement for starting EU accession talks, which proved to be very important for the current “tectonic changes in the geo-political order”.

Therefore, the opinion of Levica expressed by Mojsoska about changing or repealing the agreements (until the end of the interview she also strived to change the EU Negotiation Framework and terminating the Agreement with Bulgaria – legitimate right included in this Agreement), is only twisting the truth or spinning the truth. Under the circumstamces, Levica is spinning that it is a pro-EU party because the EU aspirations of the country will de facto be frozen and distant.

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At the same time, if the alternative is not specified clearly – the one that “is always there” – Levica is twisting the truth by projecting that such an alternative is not endangering the peace in the country, thereby taking the processes back for two and a half decades. All the other opinons of Levica – fight against corruption, stripping priveleges, anti-monopoly and anti-usury laws etc.  that are a very useful set of political offer in the country – lose, in a manner of speech, part of their importance which is additionally a pity for the development of democracy and human rights of the citizens.

Because of the above-listed arguments, we assess that the statements made by Jovana Mojsoska from Levica regarding the two main reasons why they are not in favour of EU-membership at any cost is a spin.

 

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This article has been produced within the project Fact-Checking the Progress of North Macedonia towards the EU, implemented by the Metamorphosis Foundation. The article, originally published by Truthmeter,, is made possible by the support of the American non-profit foundation NED (National Endowment for Democracy). The content of this article is the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Metamorphosis, NED or their partners.

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