Skopje, 25 December 2024 (MIA) - One of the key problems for the Macedonian citizens is justice. Justice is the strongest link between the state and its citizens. However, justice is threatened by endemic corruption and organized crime, which, together with the conflict of interest, nepotism and clientelism, nullify the rule of law, devalue institutions, evict young people and empty our country. Without justice, there is no certainty in planning life, President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova said in her annual address in the Parliament on Wednesday.

“The fight against corruption and organized crime is the most important fight of this government. In this fight, we are not alone. We have the trust of the Macedonian citizens and the support of our strategic partners, including by adding to the blacklist. We are doomed if we do not see the darkness with wide open eyes and whiten it with sanctions. Now the competent Macedonian institutions are on the move. Citizens expected and received specific results. Any delay would mean tolerating lawlessness and injustice. No one must be untouchable. No one must be above the law. The entire society cannot suffer punishment due to the impunity of a few,” Siljanovska Davkova stressed.

But, she noted, the fight must by no means be reduced to these few high-profile cases because corruption is deeply rooted in every pore of society.

“The distrust of the judiciary is not accidental. The wise Lord Acton rightly concluded that: all power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Robert Hyslop, on the other hand, warned that in every country there is crime, but in the Balkans, criminals have their own countries. Therefore, accelerated and deep reforms in the judiciary are needed,” she said.

She noted that the Judicial Council and the Public Prosecutors’ Council should be true guardians of the independence of the judiciary and filter through which only the high-quality and uncorrupted will be able to pass.

“The restoration of the shaken trust of the Macedonian citizens in the judiciary depends on this. The fight for justice, for a legal state, for the rule of law is a fight to retain the youth and for the future of the state,” she said.

When I speak of justice, Siljanovska Davkova added, I do not mean only the judiciary and the rule of law.

“In order not to become a state of social cases, we need social justice. And in the Constitution, Macedonia is defined as a social state, which should help the vulnerable, so that every person, every family can have a decent life. The budget that you, the Members of Parliament, adopted is developmental and investment-oriented, but with a social component included. That is to be welcomed, especially in this time of price shocks. Each of us should do everything we can to help vulnerable categories. Although my powers in this field are limited, I do what I can. I have become a voice for those who face systemic discrimination, such as textile workers or rural women who are fighting for more dignified working conditions. Due to gender inequality, many women unfairly bear a double burden – taking care of the home and family, but also taking care of the income,” President Siljanovska Davkova said in her annual address.