Afrim Gashi: I will put the Kochani inquiry on the next coordination agenda

Speaker of the Assembly Afrim Gashi said the blocked special inquiry into the Kochani tragedy will be placed on the agenda at his next coordination meeting with parliamentary groups, after relatives of the 63 victims from the Pulse discotheque publicly demanded to know why the commission has not been formed.

Gashi: I will raise it at coordination, but I cannot force parties

Gashi said he had no direct authority to impose formation of the commission and that he has done what is within his powers, but that parties are blocking the process for political reasons. He also rejected claims that he stood aside because of his prior role in the former government connected to the bus crash in Bulgaria, saying the planned inquiry should cover that accident together with the Laskarci crash, the modular hospital fire in Tetovo, and the Besa Trans case.

In his remarks Gashi insisted he had not received any formal letter and that the parents were addressing the appeal to the wrong recipient. He told reporters: "I have never been afraid of the truth. I am a proponent of the idea of justice and truth, I will do everything I can. I act in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and I cannot break it and the Constitution, the law... At parliamentary coordinations this topic of forming the Inquiry Commission has not been raised for a long time. At coordinations we talk about current topics and we will open this topic as well, either I or one of the coordinators. The decision clearly states that when that decision is taken in plenary session each party proposes its own member. Levica has already submitted its member without a letter to it, there is the argument. I cannot delve into the positions of political parties, I cannot tell them to make a decision."

Levica released a statement urging VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski and SDSM leader Venko Filipche not to make "deals over the backs of families" who lost loved ones. The party argued that in the planned special inquiry — which would include Pulse, the modular hospital, Besa Trans and Laskarci — DPMNE has an interest in preventing a deep probe into institutional failures around Pulse, while SDSM would prefer to keep the modular hospital case out of political debate now that the prosecutorial file on procurement was closed and Filipche rushed to present that outcome as his own clearing.

Relatives and the civic association that formed after the Pulse tragedy demanded a clear deadline for the commission to be set up and to start work. The Association "16 March 2025 – Kochani" publicly asked the speaker and all parliamentary groups: "WILL YOU FORM THE INQUIRY COMMISSION — YES OR NO? Families no longer need words. They need action. Publicly announce a concrete deadline when the Commission will be formed and will begin work. Our children were not politicians. They were young people who went out to have fun and were supposed to return home. 63 of them did not return home."

For months VMRO-DPMNE and SDSM have offered similar explanations for delaying the special commission: DPMNE said it awaited conclusions from the standing commission so there would not be two parallel probes, while SDSM initially said it would immediately delegate members but then argued it was waiting for a letter from Gashi. Even though the inquiry is not a priority for some parties, both SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE published statements today arguing they cared for the families. The inquiry is also not a stated priority for DUI or the party Vredi.

Photo: press material from the event