NATO REFERENDUM BATTLE HEATS UP

NATO REFERENDUM BATTLE HEATS UP- World Macedonia Congress leader Todor Petrov returns fire at “Brussels racism”

by Sasha Uzunov, Skopje, Macedonia
Saturday 11 August 2018

Mr Todor Petrov, the President of the World Macedonian Congress, an internationally based lobby group, has condemned what he says is the European Union’s “racist” attacks against opponents of the NATO referendum in Macedonia scheduled for the end of September this year.

The referendum seeks to change Macedonia’s name by approving the controversial Prespa Agreement, which many Macedonians see as an attempt to erase Macedonian identity in order to satisfy Greek nationalist demands and remove Greek veto over Macedonia’s application to join NATO and the European Union. see link here on Prespa Agreement.

Mr Petrov was speaking at the WMC’s annual general meeting in Skopje. The WMC has called for a boycott of the controversial referendum.

The WMC President also fired a broadside at US Ambassador Jess Baily, urging the US State Department recall him from Macedonia, over concerns he was interfering in Macedonia in order to push through name change.

Mr Petrov called upon the Albanian community in Macedonia to boycott the referendum, reminding it of the support that Macedonia gave in taking in Kosovar Albanian refugees from the 1999 NATO war and the granting of over 150,000 citizenships.

In very strong language, the WMC President condemned the Bulgarian good neighbourly agreement, the Prespa Agreement and the NATO referendum:

“The agreement Zaev-Borisov [Bulgarian good neighbourly agreement - see link] dated August 1, 2017, the Dimitrov-Kotzias [Prespa] Agreement of 17 June 2018 and the Decision for announcing a referendum on September 30, 2018 adopted at the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia on 30 July 2018 for the purpose of changing the name and identity we consider null and void and high treason against the state and the nation!”

The WMC has issued a legal challenge against the validity of the referendum, passed by the Macedonian parliament, in Macedonia’s High Court citing what it says is its unconstitutional character.

“The Prime Minister [Zoran Zaev], the Ministers and the Members of the Parliament (Assembly) committed a wrong application of the law, ie they called for a referendum for consultations that, according to the Law on Referenda, are not compulsory, based on Article 73 paragraph 1 of the Constitution, instead of Article 120 of the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia.

...for issues of border change and membership in alliances of states such as the EU and NATO, the decision is passed by the Parliament with a two-thirds majority (80) of the total number of Representatives (120), but the decision comes into force if in a referendum a majority (900,000) of the total number of registered voters (1,800,000) votes in favour, which is an impossible mission in these conditions.”

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TEAM UZUNOV Question put to Mr Petrov in Macedonian - :

-Gospodin Petrov, se vodi edna gnasna racisticka kampanja protiv tebe licno i protiv Pretsedatelot na Republika Makedonija [Gjorge Ivanov] od strana na srpskiot novinar Borjan Jovanovski. Evropskata Zaednica [Unija] namerno kjuti. Zosto?

Question: Mr Petrov, there is a foul racist campaign aimed against you personally, and against the President of the Republic of Macedonia [George Ivanov] by Serbian journalist Borjan Jovanovski  Why is the European Union deliberately silent?

-Odgovor od Todor Petrov: “Ocigledno vo Evropskata Unija vazat dvojni-standardi. Tokmu poradi toa pristapuvame zaradi prava, sloboda i pravda. Ni se oskratuva ostanatoto pravo na postojenje, samo  opredeluvanje, samo identifikacija. I zatoa za ocekuvanje Se ovie racisticki napadi, pritisoci - ne od narodite / drzavljanite na zemjite clenki na Evropskata Unija tuku od Briselskata burokratija."

Answer from Todor Petrov: “ Obviously, double standards apply in the European Union and because of that we aim for rights, freedom and justice.

"Our remaining rights to exist, to self determination and self identification have been infringed. So it's to be expected these racist attacks and pressuring but it's not from the
people or citizens of European Union member states.

“It’s coming from the Brussels bureaucrat (EU headquarters].”

Todor Petrov statement 

Mr Jovanovski, a Serb in Macedonia who says he is pro NATO and EU, has focused his attacks exclusively on native ethnic Macedonians and has gone the public record as refusing to protest against Serbian nationalism, and Serb politicians, which has left him open to charges of racism against Macedonians. He has waged a personal vendetta against Macedonia’s President George Ivanov - both with protests and with nasty comments on social media.

Below the vile comment about chemical cleaning - fumigation - of the President’s office:

Jovanovski’s behaviour is at loggerheads with mainstream Serb leaders in Macedonia, such as Ivan Stoijlkovic, who have thrown their support behind boycotting the NATO referendum. (see below)

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