Political parties with different positions on changing the state emblem

After Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski declared the day before yesterday that the ruling coalition parties OBRM-PDUKM and VLEN have opened the issue of changing the state emblem, political parties expressed different positions yesterday.

For the opposition SDSM, the state emblem reflects all the characteristics of this region and does not need to be changed, while the PLD proposed placing the lynx on the new emblem, as a recognized species characteristic of the state.

The Besa Movement, which is a coalition partner in the Government, says it supports any change to the Constitution that would change state symbols associated with the past socio-political system.

Mickoski, in a statement to the media on Wednesday, said that we are one of two post-socialist countries that still have the old state emblem, with some minor modifications.

The opposition SDSM announced that it will strongly oppose such an initiative. The leader of SDSM, Venko Filipçe, said yesterday at a press conference that the state coat of arms heraldically reflects all the characteristics of this region. According to him, this is another in a series of unannounced and planned proposals of OBRM-PDUKM that have been repeated before.

"This is a proposal that is now being repeated. Let me remind you that that proposal was on the table many years ago during the previous government, when they were in coalition with the DUI. At that time, it was part of a package of measures that had to be approved. Specifically, I believe that the first dilemma that arises is whether perhaps within the coalition with VLEN, by making this proposal to change the state emblem, there is no discussion about changing the anthem. And this is something that OBRM-PDUKM must answer for," Filipçe said.

The chairman of the Besa Movement, Bilall Kasami, said that they are ready to talk about this issue.

"In fact, in a previous public appearance I said that one of the goals for naming the streets in the city of Tetovo was that the legacy of the previous system would still remain, which is also the Prime Minister's explanation in the section on changing the state emblem. We are ready to discuss a package of constitutional amendments, where instead of the legacy of the previous system, the country's current orientation towards the European Union will be reflected. We are ready to discuss, ensuring that it will be a public and transparent process," Bilall Kasami said yesterday.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) also expressed support for this initiative yesterday, proposing that the new coat of arms include the lynx as the state's characteristic species. According to the party, "it is a symbol that will in no way resemble any neighboring country and will not create problems."

The idea to change the state emblem was born in 2014, when the OBRM-PDUKM government led by Nikola Gruevski came up with such a proposal. The solution proposed then was for a red lion on a yellow-gold background in the form of a shield, as well as a crown in the upper part in the form of a fortress.

The DUI then agreed on such a state emblem, emphasizing that the lion is also part of Albanian tradition and is also found on the coat of arms of the city of Tirana. The crown, they said, represents the Skopje Castle.

The coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia was adopted on 16 November 2009, with the adoption of the Law on the Coat of Arms and Flag of the Republic of Macedonia (Official Gazette No. 138, 17 November 2009). In fact, the red five-pointed star was then removed from the coat of arms of the People's Republic of Macedonia in 1946.

The current state emblem depicts a field surrounded by ears of wheat tied at the top, interwoven with poppy seeds and tobacco leaves, which are tied at the bottom with a ribbon intertwined with folk motifs. In the middle of the field is a mountain, at the foot of which a river flows and the sun rises behind the mountain.

The authorship of the coat of arms is attributed to Vasilije Popović - Cico, who is probably the author of the artistic solution for the presentation of the coat of arms by law.