Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of implications for democracy and the rule of law in Macedonia of the recent presidential pardon for politicians in that country.

Mr Philip Hammond

As the Minister for Europe, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington) made clear in a public statement on 14 April, we are deeply concerned by President Ivanov’s decision to pardon those individuals currently under investigation in Macedonia over allegations of abuse of power. The decision protects those officials and former Ministers accused of corruption and denies justice to the people of Macedonia. Functioning rule of law means that all people must be held legally accountable for their actions and allegations fully investigated. We, together with international partners, have urged President Ivanov to reverse his decision and we have raised wider concerns about the credibility of forthcoming elections and the level of commitment to the democratic process with former Prime Minister and leader of the governing party VMRO, Nikola Gruevski.