Today, during a session where the Municipal Commission Awards “November 4” were handed out in Bitola, a real-life drama unfolded when a councilor from the VMRO-NP Gabriela Ilievska, a member of the Commission refused to vote and publicly urged the winners of the awards not to accept them from the hands of Mayor Vladimir Taleski, a suspect in several SPO investigations.
The Commission made of just nine members, owing to the absence of Ms Ilievska, decided, however, to give the lifetime achievement award to Milica Šperovik-Ribarski. Other annual awards, according to the Commission’s decision went to the Pensioners’ Association and the internal department of Bitola Hospital in recognition of their 70 year anniversary, and the award for economics went to ZK “Pelagonija”.
At the session of the Municipal Commission, councilor Ilievska stated that all the candidates deserved awards, but what they did not deserve is to be honoured and given the awards by the hands of Mayor Taleski.
“My dignity will not allow me to participate in something where Taleski behaves as if everything is normal. I do not believe that it is normal, for a Mayor, who every Friday reports to the court, to hand out awards with such accomplished recognition. This is the man, as we all heard, who all his ministers refer to him as a perfidious actor and criminal, and we should allow him, in addition to all his other crimes, to hand-out awards”, said Ilievska and urged the winners not to take the November 4 Award from the hands of Taleski.
The President of the Council of the Municipality of Bitola, Silvana Angelevska,who is also the President of the Commission for the awards, told “Meta” that councilor Ilievska is within her right not to vote, and it is her legitimate right and not to disrupt the decision-making.
“Everyone has the right to act as they think, but her reasons for this behavior are not well-founded. Until proven guilty, Taleski should not be degraded”, stated Angelevska.
