Skopje, 12 September 2024 (MIA) - Veterans have always had and will continue to have my unequivocal support. The law is submitted by SDSM MP Slavjanka Petrovska but the opposition does not do this because they care about the veterans but to create ethnic tensions and intolerance, said Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski on Thursday.

"I would advise citizens to not fall for this because the situation is stable. The country is finally starting to develop, industrial production is on the rise and inflation is dropping, investments are gaining ground, pensions are rising, agriculture subsidies are coming back. They do not know how to lift the economy or give proposals, they do not know how to do something good but are masters at creating such tensions. This is what is going to happen in the coming period but the state will defend itself - we will defend the citizens and Macedonia's security," PM Mickoski told reporters.

Asked if he agreed with statements coming from the "Worth It" coalition that the law for the veterans should include benefits for former members of the so-called National Liberation Army (NLA), the PM repeated that veterans have his support.

The motion for amendments to the law on specific rights of security forces includes benefits for family members of killed or injured Army and Ministry of Interior servicemen, family members of those killed in the 2008 and 2014 helicopter crashes, the 2004 President's plane crash, the Divo Naselje clashes in 2015, and the families of those killed while performing official duties between 1991 and 2024, including the 2001 conflict.

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