Published by Wikileaks & Bivol.bg
date: 12/14/2009 9:11 refid: 09SKOPJE601 origin: Embassy Skopje classification: CONFIDENTIAL destination: 09SKOPJE522 header: VZCZCXRO5057 PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR DE RUEHSQ #0601/01 3480911 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 140911Z DEC 09 FM AMEMBASSY SKOPJE TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8750 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE 0579 RUESEN/SKOPJE BETA RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SKOPJE 000601 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2019 TAGS: PGOV, XG, ZL, MK SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: GOVERNMENT USES STATE ORGANS TO ENFORCE LOYALTY AND SILENCE DISSENT REF: SKOPJE 522 Classified By: Classified by Ambassador Reeker for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d) 1. (C) SUMMARY: Over the past month, it appears that Prime Minister Gruevski and his VMRO inner circle have used the judicial and policing arms of the state to enforce party discipline and quell dissent, which has contributed to an increasing climate of fear. The government has been using a catch-all corruption charge of "abuse of office" or "misuse of official position" against members of the political elite in Macedonia. Highly publicized arrests, detentions or investigations of current and former ministers, party members, and the opposition have put pressure on the political elite in Macedonia to refrain from challenging or criticizing the Gruevski government. We have also heard complaints from non-governmental organizations whose members have been called in by the police for "informative talks" on their actions. Moreover, these tactics can be sold to the Macedonian public as the government's valiant efforts against corruption, which helps maintain public support for these abusive actions. Friends Become Enemies of the State: Trenkoski and Besimi ------------------------------------- 2. (C) One recent high profile arrest was of Georgi Trenkoski, former manager of the Macedonian Health Fund and ruling VMRO-DPMNE party member. Trenkoski had the reputation for being one of the cleanest bureaucrats in the Macedonian Government and was given a "gold star" award for excellent management in 2007. In July, he resigned from his position on principle, disagreeing with Gruevski,s current policies. He is also an alumnus of the U.S. State Department's Ron Brown Fellowship Program and has close ties to the international community. On 3 November, he was publicly arrested on charges of "misuse of official position" and accused of authorizing the payment of a pharmaceutical company twice for the same shipment. Trenkoski told the Ambassador before his arrest that he had been threatened with legal action by the PM,s Chief of Staff Martin Protoger. Protoger hotly denied this to us. The arrest occurred on the street with press "conveniently" nearby--it was evident that select "government friendly" media were tipped off ahead of the arrest. The papers condemned Trenkoski as corrupt and ran with the story immediately after he was picked up by police. 3. (C) In a 10 November meeting with the Ambassador, fellow Ron Brown alumni and close associates of Trenkoski informed the Ambassador that the entire event was politically motivated and engineered by the Prime Minister for the sake of punishing Trenkoski for speaking out of turn even though he did so privately. They firmly believed that Trenkoski was innocent and that the charges were meant as a message, not only to him, but to others who might consider crossing the party. They claimed Gruevski was making an example out of Trenkoski and that he was using his political power over the judiciary to bring &trumped up8 charges against political enemies. 4. (C) Another notable case is the recent allegation against Minister of Economy Fatmir Besimi for the previous government's decision to sell shares of Skopje,s publicly-owned transport company. (Besimi held the same position in the 2002-2006 SDSM-DUI government.) A preliminary investigation into the legality of the sale was opened in 2007, but did not lead to any arrests or charges. Allegations in the case resurfaced 7-8 November against Besimi (and former SDSM Finance Minister Popovski), almost four years after the event in question. Both Besimi and especially Popovski enjoy reputations as clean politicians, a relative rarity here. In a 12 November meeting, Besimi told us that he sees clear political motives for this case, mainly to ruin his reputation, to reduce his effectiveness in seeking reform in the energy sector, and perhaps to pressure DUI leader Ali Ahmeti to fire him or force his resignation. He is determined not to resign, but if indeed criminal charges are brought against him, he feels he would have to do so as he could not carry out his duties effectively. Besimi told the Ambassador on 23 November that he thought the current threat had passed, but he noted that government investigators are always snooping around his ministry and collecting data that VMRO can use against him. Popovski was questioned for hours by a plain clothes police officers, but no charges have been levied as of 25 November. Pre Trial Detention: A Method to Create Fear and Ruin SKOPJE 00000601 002 OF 003 Reputations --------------------------------------- 5. (C) Macedonian law allows for people accused of a crime to spend time in pre-trial detention (or jail) for a minimum of 30 days, with a possible extension to 180 days if a council of three judges orders a 60-day extension for further investigation and a superior court offers an additional 90-day extension, allowed only in cases for which the crime under investigation is subject to a sentencing guideline of at least 5 years. The detention period gives the investigative judge time to interview witnesses without interference by the defendant, but it also can be ordered if the judge feels the defendant might flee or might commit the same or another crime. In some cases, the judge will "amend" the charges to allow for more time behind bars. Pre-trial detention is an effective tool for a government that wants to create a climate of fear because not only does it lock someone in jail for at least 30 days, it also does irreparable damage to their public and professional reputation. The accused's reputation often does not recover, even if they are eventually acquitted of the charges. 6. (C) When on November 10 Trenkoski appeared to face a more serious charge and the likelihood of additional weeks of jail time, his lawyers applied for bail to release him. (Court sources and other contacts informed us that, although all the witnesses had been interviewed, the judge was considering additional, more serious charges and ordering expert testimony that would have kept Trenkoski in jail for an additional undefined amount of time.) After a text message from the U.S. Embassy to the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Protoger, and a follow-up phone conversation, Trenkoski was released on 11 November. Most likely he will eventually have to stand trial for the charges. Even if he is acquitted of all charges, the damage to his reputation has already been done. Let's Not Forget the Opposition -------------------------- 7. (SBU) In addition to enforcing discipline in the party and governing coalition, Gruevski also uses his control over the judicial and policing functions of the state to attempt to silence the opposition. The arrest and detention in August 2008 of SDSM Vice-President and Strumica mayor Zoran Zaev, was an early indicator of the government's tactics. Although Zaev won reelection in March 2009, in the last two weeks, he is one of five members of the opposition SDSM party that have been charged with this same &abuse of office/misuse of official position charges8 for corruption. On 4 November, the government floated allegations in the press that former President and current SDSM leader Branko Crvenkovski and his cabinet used thousands of denar of state money for personal use during his time as president. The SDSM spokesperson publicly accused the government of using the judiciary to attack its political opposition and create a psychological climate of fear among the public against questioning or criticizing the government. 8. (C) XXXXXXXXXXXX 9. (SBU) Two SDSM youth members were questioned for several hours by police on 21 November for distributing leaflets about a local the poor government practices of a local mayor. The party members told the press that the incident was intimidation and an attempt by the government to silence the opposition. The police claim that the mayor filed a complaint against the two youth, and they were obliged to investigate the complaint, but admitted to the press that the youth did nothing illegal. 9. (C) Slajana Taseva, head of the Macedonian NGO SKOPJE 00000601 003 OF 003 Transparency Zero Corruption, has complained to European diplomats and in the media that recently she has been harassed by police, being called into their headquarters at night for lengthy "informative talks" on her behavior and criticism of the government. Although she has not been formally charged or under arrest, she received an official summons from the police. When she arrived at the police station with her attorney, she was given "friendly advice" about her work on anticorruption. Other NGOs have made similar claims. COMMENT ------- 9. (C) The political influence of Gruevski on the judicial and policing arms of the government is no secret. This latest spate of public arrests, accusations, and indictments shows a definite spike in such interference and manipulation. We have received an increasing number of complaints about late night "informative talks" with the police and threats from the government about possible "corruption charges" that may be investigated should people chose to defy the government or speak out. Meanwhile, there is no action against Gruevski's insiders widely reputed to be corrupt, such as intelligence director Sasho Majalkov (also Gruevski's cousin) and Minister or Transport and Communications Mile Janakieski. It is possible that Gruevski is lashing out as he feels especially vulnerable now. International and domestic pressures are building to solve the "name issue" with Greece or face the prospect of not being able to commence EU membership negotiations, despite receiving a favorable report from the EU commission (see REFTEL). These cases distract public attention away from the name issue and give Gruevski an enhanced sense of control. We will continue to use our influence judiciously to counteract this tendency, in specific cases when warranted. More broadly, we and the other international actors here keep pressing for practical measures to increase judicial independence, police and prosecutorial professionalism, and promote rule of law. REEKER
