Tito Petkovski, former chairman of the Parliamentary Committee to supervise interception of communications, said that even when he was chairman of the committee, it was a public secret that wiretapping equipment was purchased.
Petkovski says almost none of the questions he asked related to wiretapping equipment or additional money in the budget of the Ministry of Interior or UBK, were not answered, neither on the meeting of the committee nor on plenary session.
However, what equipment is concerned in the recordings of conversations released by SDSM leader Zoran Zaev?
Is it tapping equipment, as Zaev says, or something else?
– In 2011, there were an additional eight million euros in budget and although I repeatedly asked what the purpose of this money is, I got a response that it is classified information that can only be said in private session on which 82 MPs need to agree, i.e. two-thirds majority – said Petkovski.
According to him, the tapping equipment was purchased several times.
Former MP from the opposition Esad Rahik said he could not say for certain equipment procurement in 2011 because there is no information about such a thing, but he remembers the suspicion in 2007 caused by the enormous increase in the budget of UBK, about 25 million euros.
– At parliamentary committee, we asked from the Minister of Interior to answer why the money is transferred to UBK. We insisted we get an explanation in the Assembly and the relevant committees, but after several attempts, we did not get any response. Doubts were that money was meant for wiretapping equipment. I’m glad, but at the same time, I am sorry if then I was right, and it is now confirmed – said Esad Rahik for META.
