site.btaNorth Macedonia's PM on Rally Supporting Serbian President: Government Does Not Interfere in Another Country's Internal Affairs

North Macedonia's Government has absolutely no intention to either support or interfere in the internal and independent policy of any country, Prime Minister of North Macedonia Hristijan Mickoski told journalists on Wednesday. He was asked whether he supports a pro-Serbian President rally in Kumanovo on May 23, organized by the Peace, Freedom, Stability civil association for progress in ethnic minority rights and interests.

The organization has called for sending "a strong message of unity and support" by gathering "all supporters and citizens who respect policy of Serbian President' Aleksandar Vucic." On the same date in Belgrade, students will hold yet another demonstration as part of the large-scale protests organized by them for a year and a half now, demanding new parliamentary elections and accusing the power holders, including the Serbian President, of corruption. 

The announced rally  in Kumanovo has triggered a reaction by the opposition Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM). SDSM Execute Council member Andrej Zernovski commented in a Facebook post on Tuesday that if that were a rally in support of Bulgarian Prime Minister and former president Rumen Radev, then right-wing VMRO-DPMNE leader and Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, Foreign Minister Timcho Mucunski "and their entire media network would shout about an interference in internal affairs, sovereignty in danger, and treason and would hold a news conference every two hours." However, the publicly organized political rally in Kumanovo in support of "brother Vucic" was met with silence, no patriotic speeches, no dramatic posts, no condemnation, no patriotic news conference, Zernovski argued. "This is the best evidence of their hypocritical policy. The interference in the policy of another country is not a problem; their problem is only who does it," he added.

For quite some time, SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE have been finding reasons to trade accusations daily, getting Bulgaria's name involved.