Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08SKOPJE146
2008-02-22 15:25:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Skopje
Cable title:  

MACEDONIA'S LUSTRATION LAW: OPENING PANDORA'S BOX?

Tags:  PGOV PREL MK 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO4889
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSQ #0146/01 0531525
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221525Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY SKOPJE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7091
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE 0214
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUESEN/SKOPJE BETA
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 3752
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000146 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL MK
SUBJECT: MACEDONIA'S LUSTRATION LAW: OPENING PANDORA'S BOX?


SUMMARY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000146

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL MK
SUBJECT: MACEDONIA'S LUSTRATION LAW: OPENING PANDORA'S BOX?


SUMMARY


1. (SBU) Parliament unanimously adopted on January 22 a
Lustration Law that is likely to make it difficult for those
accused of having once served as informers to clear their
name, or to fully exercise their constitutional right to
employment in the public sector. International observers are
concerned about the timing of the law, and about the ability
of Macedonian institutions to implement it in a non-partisan
and fair manner. End summary.

LUSTRATION LAW PASSED WITH BACKBENCHERS' SUPPORT


2. (SBU) On January 22, the Macedonian Parliament passed the
Law on Determining Additional Conditions for the Performance
of Public Function (Lustration Law). The law --which
commentators characterized as a law no political party could
afford to oppose-- was adopted unanimously by those present,
with 73 votes "in favor." At the moment the voting began,
however, 23 MPs left the hall and failed to vote. Notably,
the group of 23 included 10 Parliamentary party leaders and
four party whips.

LUSTRATION FOR ALL PUBLIC EMPLOYEES


3. (SBU) The Lustration Law followed in the footsteps of
Macedonia's 2000 Law for the Opening of the Police Files,
which made it possible to identify the victims of the old
Yugoslav regime (1944-1991),but did not reveal information
on the informers. The new law is applicable to elected
officials at the state and local level, judges, lawyers, law
enforcement and military officials, as well as diplomats and
university professors. Candidates for such positions, or
persons who currently occupy such positions, are to undergo
"verification" of whether they once served as informers or
users of information obtained by state agents during the
period August 1944 to February 6, 2008, the day the
Lustration Law entered into force. Article 4 of the law
defines an "informer" as one who knowingly, secretly and
continuously worked with the clandestine services in the
country by collecting damaging information on persons for
political or ideological reasons, and which resulted in
financial and/or professional gain for the informer.

PROVE YOUR INNOCENCE AND SELF-INCRIMINATION COMBINED


4. (SBU) According to the law, any candidate for a public
function, or a person who currently works in such a function,

must submit a certified statement affirming that they either
were, or were not, an informant during the period covered.
That statement is then verified by an 11-member "politically
independent commission," which is to be elected by Parliament
to a five-year-term within 60 days from the day the law
enters into force. If a candidate for a public elected or
appointed office affirms he was/was an informer, then that
person has to retract his/her candidacy. The same applies to
current officials covered by the law. Non-submission of the
statement automatically disqualifies candidates from pursuing
public office.


5. (SBU) A candidate or currently serving official who
disagrees with the commission's decision may appeal to a
first instance court within eight days. The court does not
have access to classified materials, however, which will make
it difficult for judges to decide on the merits of the case
since many of the relevant files are classified. The
commission also publishes the names of candidates for public
office who have failed to submit a certified statement in the
State Gazette. The commission publishes the names of persons
who currently work in one of the functions covered by the law
whose statements regarding their informer status are "judged
to have been false." It also refers their names to the
appropriate state organs "for further processing," including
filing criminal charges. The law imposes penalties for
tampering with archive files and other information related to
the lustration process.

THE PROPONENTS: NAME AND SHAME THE INFORMERS


6. (SBU) The driving force behind the Lustration Law
initiative has been Liberal Party's President Andov. A
seasoned Macedonian politician and former high level Yugoslav
communist converted to anti-communist, Andov has been
polishing his lustration pedigree since 1995, when he
proposed a parliamentary declaration to apologize to all the
victims of communism in Macedonia. Such a declaration was
adopted in 2006 and provoked a strong negative public
reaction in Macedonia. Andov believes the new Lustration Law

SKOPJE 00000146 002 OF 002


will make Macedonia's governance structure more democratic by
removing persons from public office who were closely
associated with the former Yugoslav intelligence structures.


7. (SBU) According to Lustration Law co-drafter and current
GOM Spokesman Bocevski, the new law is a symbolic "naming and
shaming" of informers, which should start a much-needed
dialogue in society and "help reform the intelligence
community." Asked about the timing of the law, Bocevski
asserted that the public was ready to get rid of the "old
networks" of former state informants currently working in
government, adding that current or future public officials
verified to have acted as informers during the period
stipulated would be banned from their public positions.
(Note: Such a ban from taking part in public life would
violate Article 62 of the Constitution, on the irrevocability
of a member of parliament's mandate. End note.)

POTENTIAL PITFALLS


8. (SBU) Even though most politicians supported the passage
of the Lustration Law, the absence of many party heavyweights
from the voting hall on the day it was passed highlighted
concerns over how the law will be applied. Independent MP
Esad Rahic, who voted for the law and who chairs the
Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence Oversight, told
Poloff that the law would affect only "the small fry."
According to Rahic, most files on informants already have
been destroyed or transferred to private collections. (Note:
GOM Spokesman Bocevski has told us he estimates there are
about 15,000-30,000 suspected informants in Macedonia. End
note.) Opposition SDSM VP Jani Makraduli, however, who left
the plenary session during the voting, expressed concern that
the law might threaten the security of the country and create
additional "bad blood" in an already tense political
situation.

COMMENT


9. (SBU) The drafters of the Lustration Law lauded its
passage as an "act of historic proportions." After a two-day
media blitz, however, nobody, except for the international
community, seemed to be paying much attention to the new
legislation. Our NATO, EU and OSCE contacts share our unease
regarding the legal inconsistencies in the law and the
significant potential for its misuse in a political
witch-hunt against government opponents. They express
concerns also about the explosive issues and different
interpretations of historical events that the new law may
trigger, concluding that the timing of the passage of the law
was "unfortunate" given other government priorities and
regional developments.


10. (SBU) We will monitor the formation of the special
Lustration Law Commission, which is scheduled to be formed by
March 30, 2008. We also will press the GOM for impartial and
non-partisan application of the lustration process. Our
assessment is that the GOM will not rush to implement the
law, given the potential pitfalls and the clumsy legal
framework that will hamper judges' access to classified
information that could either implicate or exonerate
suspected informants from Macedonia's past.
MILOVANOVIC