Skopje, 12 October 2023 (MIA) – The best reconciliation will happen when everyone answers for their crimes, and there is no, and there should be no compromise here, when it comes to people who have inflicted serious harm to the country, to democracy, to many processes, there must be responsibility, Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski told Sitel TV on Thursday evening, in response to Deputy Prime Minister Fatmir Bytyqi’s statement that he would reconcile with former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski for the good of the country.

Spasovski said the only reconciliation between the political entities must happen on the basis of the principle of responsibility.

“It depends on the reconciliation, I think the best reconciliation will happen when everyone answers for their crimes, and there is no, and there should be no compromise here, when it comes to people who have inflicted serious harm to the country, to democracy, to many processes, there must be responsibility. Reconciliation, for me, can only happen on such a principled basis, between political entities, between politicians,” said Spasovski.

Regarding the upcoming elections, according to Spasovski the best option would be to hold the presidential elections first, and then the parliamentary elections. He didn’t exclude the option of a coalition with other parties in the first round of the presidential elections.

“We had a joint candidate of the entire government coalition in 2019 as well, and this isn’t excluded as an opportunity now too, because the presidential elections are a chance for all people to come together, not only the political parties, but everyone who is committed to the country’s progress,” said Spasovski.

Commenting the decision of former SDSM member and current Kumanovo Mayor Maksim Dimitrievski to form a new political movement, Spasovski said the widening of the political spectrum is good for democracy, and he didn’t exclude the possibility of working together with Dimitrievski.

“The political spectrum is widening, and this is good for democracy in a society. All political entities are founded on values, ideals. I said that SDSM is a core party, a large coalition with huge potential, in politics there is always room for cooperation if it is founded upon common ideals,” said Spasovski.

The Interior Minister reaffirmed his position that the Law on Amnesty won’t help the overcrowded prisons, nor make the sanctions system more efficient, but, he said, “the good thing is that there is always room for every law to undergo amendments.”

Photo: MIA Archive