Macedonian PM Urges Former Coalition Partner to Return
SKOPJE, Nov 23 (News Agencies) - Macedonian Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski Friday called on a moderate party that left the ruling coalition to reverse its decision, which he said was aimed merely at "winning points" before elections planned for early next year.
The parliament, however, Friday approved the withdrawal of the three Social Democrat ministers from the government, Agence France_Presse (AFP) reported.
The head of the moderate Social Democrat Party (SDSM), Branko Crvenkovski, said on Wednesday that his party and the smaller Liberal Democrat Party were leaving the coalition government, formed earlier this year to cope with a short-lived rebellion by minority ethnic Albanians.
The withdrawal of the center-left moderate SDSM boosts the position of Georgievski's more hawkish and nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party within the coalition, and has raised fears that a more hardline grouping could be formed that could jeopardize the peace process.
A debate that had been scheduled in the parliament for Friday on the holding of elections was postponed until next week at the request of the VMRO-DPMNE, which sought instead discussions on the SDSM's decision.
The elections are set for January 27 under the peace accord. The SDSM has urged the vote be held on schedule, something most other parties oppose.
The SDSM "must reverse its decision and discuss with us a date for the elections," Georgievski told the parliament.
He charged the party had withdrawn from the coalition so it could "return to the opposition in order to win points for the elections," and to leave the VMRO-DPMNE in charge at "the most difficult time that Macedonia has faced, while only one part of the Ohrid peace accord has been implemented."
The SDSM had previously announced it would leave the coalition once constitutional amendments were passed that gave more rights to the Albanian Muslim minority.
The reforms, which were approved November 16, were part of the Western-brokered Ohrid peace accord that ended a six-month Albanian insurgency. The Albanians in exchange agreed to disband and hand over their weapons.
Western envoys had tried in vain to persuade the SDSM to remain in the coalition because of its more moderate position toward the insurgents.
