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Wh y We Lo s t – Th e M a c e don i a n C a s e
The first major strike on democracy by SDSM was in the parliamentary and presidential
elections in 1994, which were marked by blatant fraud. The second major turbulence in
the country was the assassination attempt on President Gligorov, which seriously wounded
him and inflicted permanent injuries. The investigation of this case is still ongoing. Also,
organized crime was getting stronger, which was famously acknowledged by then Prime
Minister Branko Crvenkovski who said that a “criminal octopus” existed in Macedonia,
and that it would be defeated. Of course, this did not happen, and the people became more
disappointed by the lack of progress.
During the 1994-1996 period, when the United Nations (UN) imposed sanctions against
Yugoslavia, the SDSM government allowed trade transactions and oil sales into Yugosla-
via contrary to UN sanctions. These transactions, of which the government was aware,
exclusively benefited a select group of party functionaries. By most estimates, the value
of profits made by SDSM functionaries during this period ran into the hundreds of mil-
lions of dollars. Besides oil, cigarette smuggling reached its peak during these years. Up
until June 1998, public procurement transactions involving hundreds of millions of dol-
lars were unregulated by law. This period was characterized by numerous scandals involv-
ing public procurements because there was no accountability or transparency, and many
SDSM ministers were implicated in scandals.
Many also argue that the SDSM government and President Gligorov misled the nation,
stating that the provisional name “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” would be
only temporary. They completely failed in foreign policy with the “equidistance model”
that tried to maintain similar relationships with all neighbors, even though some of them
were helping Macedonia survive the blockades while others were imposing blockades and
sanctions. Meanwhile, EU and NATO integration progressed very slowly.
Ninety percent of all public companies were privatized under the SDSM government.
During this time, less than $50 million was received directly by the public treasury. The
vast majority of these companies was “sold” to SDSM insiders via a management buy-out
scheme at ridiculous prices with a two-year grace period and a seven-year term of repay-
ment, thus creating an oligarchy at the expense of the Macedonian state and the Mace-
donian people. These actions were done to build a milieu of wealthy companies close to
SDSM, to support its policies, cover its campaign expenses, satisfy the employment needs
of SDSM members and supplement the benefits of the state administration.
One of the biggest public scandals which shook Macedonia during the government of
SDSM was the TAT affair in 1997. TAT, a “savings and investment house” in Bitola, ad-
vertised huge interest rates for depositors, promising to pay rates of 5-6% per month. In
fact, it was nothing but a classic pyramid scheme in which ordinary citizens lost over $70
million. In 1996, the director of TAT was proclaimed “manager of the year” by the govern-
ment and the president, who himself awarded the prize. The TAT director was also chosen
to head the SDSM candidate list for the 1996 local elections in Bitola. Public praise was
heaped on TAT and its director, creating much public interest and a rush to invest as a
result. Many “chosen” persons borrowed money from TAT at rates of 3% per annum, and
promptly re-invested it in TAT at the aforementioned rates, making profits by redeeming
money just after a couple of months. Huge profits were thus made by public officials at the
expense of ordinary citizens who were simply deceived. Once the scheme collapsed, gov-
