Skopje, 27 October 2024 (MIA) - Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski claims that the National Security Agency (NSA) director, Bojan Hristovski, meets the requirements according to the law. He called on the Anti-Corruption Commission to state its decision on this case as soon as possible following accusations from the opposition that Hristovski does not meet the requirements to be the NSA director.

"I claim that all requirements according to the law have been met. The only authority that should say whether those requirements are met is the Anti-Corruption Commission, and I call on the commission to look into this case as soon as possible. I am convinced that he meets the requirements. Surely we will not let something like that happen. The document has been issued since 2022, whether that Agency existed in the meantime is a completely different question," Mickoski said following Sunday's accusations from the opposition SDSM that Hristovski's English language certificate has been forged.

Mickoski said that if any lapse is found in the case of Hristovski, he will demand responsibility.

On Sunday, the opposition SDSM reiterated the demand for resignation of the NSA director because, the party said, he had a forged English language certificate.

"Using a forged document is a crime, not just a legal lapse. Hristovski does not have a suitable internationally recognized certificate of knowledge of the English language, but used a forged document to get the position. This is a violation of the law and a crime regarding which he must be held accountable. I call on the Prosecutor's Office to open a procedure. It is scandalous that the person who committed a crime was a state advisor for criminal matters in the Ministry of Interior. This threatens all principles of security and integrity in institutions," SDSM MP Metodija Ilievski told a press conference on Sunday, also adding that the situation creates risks for national security. 

In addition to a resignation from Hristovski, SDSM demands immediate response from the Anti-Corruption Commission as well as resignation and responsibility on the part of Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski for partisanship of institutions by appointing persons of impaired integrity and no qualifications.

Bulgaria's Faktor news said its journalists conducted checks that showed there is no authorized language centre in Plovdiv for issuing the internationally recognized TOEFL certificate, and according to the register of schools in Bulgaria, there is not even a school with the name Language School Julia Co.LTD.

Photo: MIA archive