The president of the SCCC explains why diplomatic passports are necessary for state anti-corruption officers
"The diplomatic passport is not a privilege, it is a right that only serves to perform the official duty," said the president of the State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (SPC), Tatjana Dimitrovska, in an interview for "360 degrees".
When asked why she and the Anticorruption members need diplomatic passports, Dimitrovska said:
"Once again, I will say that the diplomatic passport is not a privilege, it is a right that only serves to perform the official duty. The passport is approved according to the law on travel documents. Withdrawal or approval of the same is the right of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. I will say again, having or not having a diplomatic passport is not a key issue as is the issue of official vehicles. Here the question is how the DCSK works to protect public assets from corruption and fight against them, that is, to protect the money of us, the citizens."
Dimitrovska did not directly answer the question of whether they would not be able to carry out this mission without a diplomatic passport:
"I think I have given enough arguments for using this travel document. It is not a privilege, but a right. If the institution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers that there is no need for us to have it, it is free to take it away."