Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07SKOPJE633
2007-08-03 14:00:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Skopje
Cable title:  

MACEDONIA: STRIPPED OF PARLIAMENTARY IMMUNITY,

Tags:  PGOV PREL PHUM MK 
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VZCZCXRO0639
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSQ #0633/01 2151400
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 031400Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY SKOPJE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6359
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE 0006
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 3698
RUESEN/SKOPJE BETA
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000633 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM MK
SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: STRIPPED OF PARLIAMENTARY IMMUNITY,
FORMER PRIME MINISTER FACES CORRUPTION INDICTMENT


SUMMARY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000633

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM MK
SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: STRIPPED OF PARLIAMENTARY IMMUNITY,
FORMER PRIME MINISTER FACES CORRUPTION INDICTMENT


SUMMARY


1. (SBU) In a dramatic midnight session August 1, the
Parliamentary Committee on Immunity revoked the parliamentary
immunity of former Prime Minister and current opposition SDSM
MP Vlado Buckovski. After being stripped of his immunity,
Buckovski appeared in front of an investigative judge on
August 3 to face corruption charges related to military
equipment purchases made when he was Minister of Defense in

2001. The Immunity Committee session appeared timed to make
a media splash on August 2, Macedonia's National Day, and
just a day before the Parliament begins its summer recess.
Our initial assessment is that the government mishandled the
case in an effort to score media and public approval points,
and without having considered the negative impact the
proceedings are likely to have on its reform goals and the
development of democratic practices and institutions in
Macedonia. End summary.

MIDNIGHT COMMITTEE REMOVES EX-PM BUCKOVSKI'S IMMUNITY


2. (SBU) In a late-night session which began August 1 and
finished at 3 a.m. the next morning, the Parliamentary
Immunity Committee voted to revoke the parliamentary immunity
of former PM and current MP from the opposition SDSM Vlado
Buckovski. Buckovski is charged with abuse of power during
his tenure as Minister of Defense in 2001, and from
2002-2004. Specifically, Buckovski is implicated in the
procurement of spare parts, at vastly inflated prices, for
T-55 tanks donated by Bulgaria.


3. (SBU) The Immunity Committee's session came just a day
after the well-publicized July 31 arrest of retired General
Metodi Stamboliski, who served as CHOD during Buckovski's
tenure at the helm of the Ministry of Defense (MOD).
Stamboliski, two other high-level MOD officials, and the
director of a large metals factory are co-defendants in the
same case, and are accused of embezzling between 2-4 million
Euros. In 2002, then-Minister of Interior Boskoski
(currently on trial in The Hague for war crimes committed in
2001) filed similar criminal charges against Buckovski, but
the case was dismissed.

BOTCHED PROCEDURE AND BAD TIMING


4. (SBU) Buckovski returned to Skopje voluntarily from his
vacation in Greece to face the charges. He was briefly
detained at the border and then participated in the Immunity
Committee's heated session, where a 6-3 vote along party
lines stripped him of his immunity. On August 3, Buckovski
appeared before a Skopje investigative judge to answer the
charges against him. Around 200 SDSM supporters protested
the action in front of the court.


5. (SBU) SDSM is vigorously criticizing the timing and the
handling of the process. They see the action as a government
attempt to drag Buckovski through the mud as part of its
public campaign to demonstrate its commitment to combating
corruption. SDSM does not recognize the decision of the
Immunity Committee, citing procedural errors on the part of
the VMRO-DPMNE committee chair. Reflecting SDSM's principled
stance opposing the cavalier manner in which VMRO-DPMNE has
approached parliamentary immunity issues, an influential SDSM
contact tells us the party "is not protecting Buckovski, but
we are protecting the MP." SDSM President Radmila
Sekerinska, in the U.S. participating in a graduate studies
program, announced on Macedonian radio August 2 that she
would interrupt her studies to return to the country to lead
the SDSM counter-attack.

COMMENT


6. (SBU) It appears the whirlwind events that started
unfolding in this case just before Macedonia's National Day
were deliberately planned, with the GOM hoping for a "big
splash" media event that would underscore its commitment to
combating corruption, regardless of how often the opposition
is targeted for such efforts. In addition, the timing of the
Immunity Committee vote seemed orchestrated to conclude just
a day before the Parliament's and GOM's summer recess began,
leaving little leeway for SDSM to counter-attack. (NOTE: The
Immunity Committee can decide on the removal of an MP's
immunity only if the full Parliament is not planning to hold
a session in the next 15 days. Parliament's next session
will be some time after August 20. END NOTE.)


7. (SBU) We and our EU and OSCE colleagues are closely

SKOPJE 00000633 002 OF 002


monitoring this case, which the GOM appears to have
mishandled. By trying to score media points and raise public
approval ratings, the GOM does not seem to have assessed the
negative impact the Buckovski case is likely to have on
future VMRO-SDSM cooperation on important reform projects,
such as completing the composition of the State Judicial
Council. The GOM also may have done SDSM the unintended
favor of giving the previously fractured Social Democrats a
cause around which to unite, as reflected in unanimous SDSM
opposition to the government's handling of the matter.
MILOVANOVIC