Macedonia

Former officials suggested that heightened political tensions ahead of this month’s local elections helped to spark violent, ethnically-charged protests in Skopje.Some former leading Macedonian government figures blamed current political leaders for fanning ethnic intolerance which spilled over into street clashes with riot police on Friday and Saturday, but said they …

The campaign for the March 24 vote began on Monday after a last-minute political deal ensured that the Macedonian opposition reversed its boycott pledge.The agreement on Friday ended the opposition’s parliamentary boycott as well as ensuring its participation in the municipal race later this month, after a political crisis that …

Politicians expressed revulsion after two days of violent, ethnically-charged protests gripped the capital, sparked by the controversial appointment of an ex-guerrilla as defence minister.Skopje was calm again on Monday after the unrest on Friday and Saturday that saw riot police use tear gas and armoured vehicles during clashes with protesters …

International representatives are stepping up pressure for a last-minute compromise to end Macedonia’s political crisis and re-start the stalled EU accession process.In a final attempt to end Macedonia’s politicial crisis, the European Parliament rapporteur on Macedonia, Richard Howitt, is due to arrive in Skopje on Thursday. He already visited the …

A man has died in the floods that have swept eastern and central Macedonia, cutting off villages and damaging farms and infrastructure.A 51-year-old man from the northeastern town of Kumanovo drowned on Tuesday, trying to cross a river that had overspilled, the authorities reported. Torrential rain for three days has …

A party representing war veterans has launched a campaign for a public vote to dismiss former ethnic Albanian fighter Talat Xhaferi from his new job as Macedonia’s defence chief.The small opposition party Dignity announced on Tuesday that it will start gathering the 150,000 signatures needed to support the referendum initiative …

The Social Democrat-led opposition has snubbed the government’s latest compromise proposal for overcoming the political crisis, calling it ‘hypocrisy’.Social Democrats on Monday said that the proposal for a one-week postponement of local elections slated for March 24 – giving them more time to submit lists of candidates – was hypocritical. …

The opposition led by the Social Democrats says it wants to cancel the results of the March local elections which it has already vowed to boycott.In a five-point declaration adopted at a convention this weekend in the town of Kumanovo, the opposition gathered around the Social Democrats said it would …

Government and opposition leaders have blamed each other for Macedonia’s political impasse in replies to the EU Enlargement Commissioner’s appeal for an end to the crisis.Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and the head of opposition Social Democrats, Branko Crvenkovski, confirmed having received letters from Stefan Fuele – but blamed each other …

Zoran Ivanov said he was returning his journalistic prizes and quitting journalism after 40 years in protest against the growing politicisation and subversion of the media.Ivanov’s move comes after he was sacked from Alfa TV on Wednesday, and after the new Serbian owners of the former critically inclined outlet changed …