Skopje, 28 March 2025 (MIA) - Following opposition SDSM leader Venko Filipche's announcement that he would initiate a leaders' meeting in the Parliament next week in the wake of the Kochani fire, the Government said Friday it has not received an official request or initiative from SDSM, noting however that the Government and the Prime Minister are open to any proposal and initiative that aims to help.

"No official request has arrived to the Government, nor has there been any initiative from SDSM. Only announcements in the media have been noted. Such serious situations require a serious approach. The Government and the Prime Minister are open to any proposal and initiative that aims to help," the Government told MIA. 

SDSM leader Venko Filipche, who took part Thursday in a fundraising evening organized by Kanal 5 TV to help the families of those killed and injured in the fire in Kochani, said that next week he will call the leaders of the largest political parties to a meeting in the Parliament to present his plan - what he considers an obligation to the country because, he noted, "it is obvious that conventional ways of conducting politics, of political struggle, do not produce results quickly enough". 

"It is not enough to just say that we need unity, that we need some kind of unification. We need to turn that into real actions and real steps because that is the least we can do for the 60 families, 59 of which were left without their children, the others who have hundreds of children undergoing treatment, and, of course, the entire society that we see now demanding some kind of change. Young people are taking to the streets and demanding change, and young people are a category of citizens who are not interested in the past or the present, they are interested in the future. And as politicians, we need to think carefully about what we should do," said Filipche. 

Photo: archive