Latest News & Developments

[vicsinad]

The Movement for Reform of the DPA: Macedonia should be a bi-national state by changing the Constitution

http://meta.mk/en/the-movement-for-reform-of-the-dpa-macedonia-should-be-a-bi-national-state-by-changing-the-constitution/

Tetovo, 24 April, 2016 - 16:58 (META)

With the protest that took place in Skopje on April 22 it showed that apart from the Macedonians, there is also a problem within the Albanian community still in this country in their fight for equality. This afternoon members of the Movement for Reform in the DPA at a press conference announced this.

They say their demands are clear, and that is change, change to the regime that rules Macedonia and changing the country’s constitution.

“Through the protest we showed that the basic problem is systemic and that we need to change the Constitution of Macedonia. To make this system sustainable in the long-term, Macedonia should become a bi-national state and this can be done by changing the constitution”, said Arben Taravari from the Movement for Reform from the DPA.

In Skopje on Friday, the Union of Albanians made up of two parties, the Movement for Reform in the DPA and the National Democratic Revival held a protest and gave support to associations of former KLA fighters, political prisoners and expelled Albanians from Macedonia.

The protesters demanded the rule of law, the de-politicization of institutions and full equality between Macedonians and Albanians.

[vicsinad]

Levica: The arrest of Saveski is an attempt to frighten us all

http://meta.mk/en/levica-the-arrest-of-saveski-is-an-attempt-to-frighten-us-all/

Skopje, 25 April, 2016 - 16:28 (META)

With the arrest of Zdravko Saveski, an executive member of the party ‘Levica” (also known as Left) has now left an opening for all party members to be persecuted, which incidentally came after the announcements of some pro-government movements to ban political parties and civil society groups, said the Levica party at the press conference in-front of the Criminal Court in Skopje.

The party says Saveski is still at ‘Prolet’ police station, where this morning he was summoned for questioning, and then detained. Unofficial sources have told us, he was detained because he had apparently participated in activities in a mob during the protests, which have gripped the country in the past couple of weeks.

According to their information, Saveski at any moment should be brought before a judge for a preliminary hearing, and rumour has it that the Public Prosecution will be requesting that Mr Saveski be remanded in custody.

“We strongly condemn this blatant political persecution on one of our members. Four more members of the Levica party have been summoned to the police station for questioning. Our advice to them, is not to respond to these calls, and not go to the police station because of the danger they may be arrested. We urge the Minister and Deputy Minister of Interior to register their cases, but not to file criminal charges”, said Dimitar Apasiev. Levica has sent two requests, one to the Public Prosecutor not to request detention, and the other to the judge of the preliminary hearing, not to rule for a measure of custody and leave the process to run without any kind of pressure.

The party and the civil initiative “I protest,” said that this is an attempt to frighten people who are openly protesting against President Ivanov’s decision to grant pardons.

They sent a message that will not succumb to such threats and pressures and urged citizens to take part in even more massive protests which already been occurring in the past two weeks in the capital, and in the other cities.

The MOI confirmed that Saveski had been summoned for questioning by the police station in connection with events which took place in-front of the President Ivanov’s Public Office which was on the first protest on April 12. Professor Saveski went to the police station on his own accord after receiving the summons, and besides him, today at 14:00 another member has been summoned. The Ministry of Interior said that after they finish interviewing Mr Saveski, they will them know whether criminal charges will be filed against him, due to the events which took place in-front of the President’s Public Offcie on April the 12th, when the whole office was completely vandalized.

The Public Prosecution Skopje told “Academik” that one individual had been summoned to the police station, in connection with the protests. There has been no information on whether and where that person will be tried by a public prosecutor.

[DraganOfStip]

Saveski is caught on tape burning pictures of Ivanov taken from his office that was demolished on the 1st or 2nd day of the protests.He is also shown throwing bricks/rocks at the office.A total of 4 members of Levica were summoned for questioning,2 of which (including Saveski) got home custody after the questioning.Oficially,they are charged with destruction of state property and participation in a mob.

http://www.akademik.mk/krivichen-sud-kuken-pritvor-od-osum-dena-za-saveski-i-kunovski/

[DraganOfStip]

In the latest Freedom House report for freedom of the press for 2016,Macedonia fell from a "partly free" country to a "not free" country:

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2016/macedonia

Status change explanation: Macedonia’s status declined from Partly Free to Not Free due to revelations indicating large-scale and illegal government wiretapping of journalists, corrupt ties between officials and media owners, and an increase in threats and attacks on media workers.
Macedonia’s media landscape is deeply polarized along political lines. Self-censorship among journalists is common, due primarily to pressure from media owners with particular business or political interests and, more recently, concerns about surveillance. Journalists are poorly paid and face threats and harassment for engaging in investigative or critical reporting.

Enforcement of media regulations is weak, and the licensing process is subject to undue political and economic influence. Under 2013 media laws, a government-dominated media regulator, the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services, is empowered to impose heavy fines and revoke broadcast licenses for content that threatens vaguely defined interests such as “public order” and “health or morals.”

The Macedonian media landscape is heavily polarized. Most private media outlets are tied to political or business interests that influence their content, and state-owned media tend to support government positions. The government continued to exercise undue political influence over the content of public outlets and control over their supervisory bodies during 2015. The public broadcaster, Macedonian Radio and Television (MRT), mostly ignored the wiretapping scandal, while the recordings themselves appeared to reveal direct government influence over the broadcaster’s reporting. The recordings also suggested a government role in the programming decisions of at least one private television outlet, and in determining the content of several newspapers.

Many private outlets are owned by businesspeople who use their media holdings as tools to promote commercial interests or curry favor with the government. Such outlets are often reluctant to pursue stories that would reflect poorly on Gruevski’s administration. For example, many outlets did not cover a series of teachers’ strikes during 2015, or omitted key details, such as the teachers’ grievances and demands, from their reporting. Moreover, as early elections in 2016 grew more likely, the most prominent private television outlets escalated progovernment reporting and criticism of the opposition.

Journalists have reported high rates of self-censorship, as they experience pressure not to publicize information that could harm their employers’ business interests. The problem was exacerbated in 2015 by the wiretapping scandal, which revealed how closely many media figures were being monitored.

Journalists faced increased levels of physical violence and harassment in 2015. Borjan Jovanovski, a prominent critical journalist for Nova TV, received a death threat in April. The sender used the name of a long-dead nationalist figure associated with the ruling party, suggesting a political motive. In May, Branko Tričkovski, a columnist for the opposition paper Sloboden Pečat, received death threats after he posted remarks on Facebook that were critical of police officers who participated in an operation against insurgents in an ethnic Albanian area of Kumanovo; eight officers were killed during the clash. Tričkovski’s vehicle was set on fire that month. Around the same time, the car of well-known political journalist Sašo Ordanoski was also set ablaze. Separately in May, Saše Ivanovski, the owner of the news website Maktel, was banned from a club for members of parliament after questioning Gruevski on the subject of his personal wealth. Days later, Ivanovski was beaten by two unidentified assailants in Skopje. Ivanovski was physically attacked again in July, this time by the deputy prime minister for economic affairs, Vladimir Peševski, after he approached Peševski on the street and questioned him about the wiretapping program. And in June, a Macedonian police officer attacked an Austrian journalist and attempted to confiscate her equipment as she sought to report on the movement of refugees at the border with Greece.

Macedonia has a large number of broadcast and print outlets for its population, but progovernment media—including the public MRT and several private television stations and newspapers—hold a dominant position in the market. A small number of outlets, such as Telma TV, 24 Vesti, Sloboden Pečat, and Fokus, carry more balanced or critical coverage. Broadcast outlets run by members of Macedonia’s ethnic Albanian minority, some of which provide content in both Albanian and Macedonian, often produce news that is more objective than their Macedonian-language counterparts; observers have suggested that this is because they are somewhat removed from the political wrangling between the two main parties, which are composed primarily of ethnic Macedonians.

The government has faced criticism for its liberal use of promotional advertising, which increases the media’s financial dependence and favors progovernment outlets. The government is one of the country’s largest advertisers, and the ruling party benefits from deep pricing discounts from friendly outlets, particularly during election campaigns. In the summer of 2015, the government issued a moratorium on official advertising amid the growing political crisis; however, the measure did not extend to all public institutions or to allied private institutions, allowing the government to retain an indirect influence over the media through advertising contracts. The state also subsidizes content production for national television broadcasters under amendments to the media law adopted in 2014, creating another mechanism for the dispersal of official funds to friendly media. Many media outlets rely on financial support from private owners’ other businesses.

Journalists face low salaries, a lack of job security, and poor working conditions, leaving them more vulnerable to editorial pressure from owners.

[DraganOfStip]

Huffington Post,
Macedonia:sliding towards autocracy?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sasha-toperich/macedonia-sliding-towards_b_9818526.html

On April 12, Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov announced the pardon of 56 individuals charged (or yet to be charged) in the most serious cases of wiretapping, electoral fraud, murder cover-up, and corruption. The presidential pardon included Gruevski (pardoned on 5 counts), Gordana Jankulovska, former Minister of Interior (pardoned on 13 counts), and Mile Janakieski, former Minister of Transport and Communication (pardoned on 16 counts). It seems President Ivanov was under serious duress by Gruevski’s team to sign the pardons, sparking unprecedented protests throughout the country.

President Ivanov’s “International Conspiracy” Theory, Supported by Russia

At the press conference held on April 15th, President Ivanov claimed that the developments in Macedonia are “not of our making.” He added:
“This is someone else’s ballgame. It is illegal to put under surveillance the entire leadership of the country, journalists, media, diplomats and then hand over this fabricated material in the hands of one man, give him strong support to use it. Subsequent events unambiguously showed that someone else is seriously involved in creating this crisis. Macedonia is neither the first nor the last country in the world to experience such a scenario. This crisis is in someone else’s interest. Other goals and interests are at stake. There is someone trying to attain something out of it by abusing the embattled politicians, political leaders and their supporters.”

Politicians in the Balkan countries, in general, are known for manipulating masses with various “conspiracy theories,” usually claiming all problems are “imported” from the outside. But such political maneuvering works rather well in this region, where ethno-politics and ethno-nationalism are still predominant forces in the political landscape.
Playing the “international conspiracy” card, along with still very dominant ethno-politics in Macedonia’s multiethnic and multicultural society, is the best way to turn away attention from this huge scandal that would likely topple several prominent political figures. The Russian foreign ministry came to the aid to President Ivanov, issuing a statement on April 14th and warning “against attempts to destabilize the situation in Macedonia.” Russia is warning of an “employment of the Ukrainian scenario that may destabilize the situation in the entire Balkan Peninsula.” Minister Sergei Lavrov also reinforced his ministry’s statement by saying that unrests in Macedonia are “orchestrated from the outside.” Lavrov argues that the former Prime Minister Gruevski has been pressed on his refusal to join the anti-Russian sanctions and for his support for South Stream, the now-abandoned pipeline project to transport natural gas from the Russian Federation through the Black Sea to Bulgaria, and through Serbia, Hungary, and Slovenia to Austria.

Both the U.S. State Department and the EU issued strong statements against the president’s pardon decision, making it very clear that the upcoming elections in Macedonia scheduled for June 5th will not be recognized. President Ivanov should revoke his pardon and let the justice system in Macedonia do its job. This would send a very clear signal that Macedonia intends to implement Chapters 23 and 24 of the EU accession process, namely to adhere to an independent and impartial judiciary, to fair trial procedures, and to making sure the government and its officials are accountable under the law. Failure to do so would be truly a pity for a country that has done much to reform itself from the socialist system of the former Yugoslavia.

The time of political corruption cover-ups, conspiracy theories that manipulate the masses, and nepotism is coming to an end in the Balkans. Forces ready to fight this old cancer and bring nations to adhere to the rule of law as a precondition to prosperity are emerging strong. Macedonia’s recent turmoil is not one of “making from the outside,” but rather of a corrupted network of high-ranking politicians fearing justice may catch up. With this latest development, it seems, rightly so.

[DraganOfStip]

DPMNE are the only party from the big 4 that submitted their list for members of municipal electoral boards for the June 5th elections.
The deadline for submitting these lists was midnight last night,and the State Electoral Commission state that the only list they received was from DPMNE.
DUI,DPA and SDSM haven't done that,and this is a clear indicatior that there will be no elections on June 5th.
Though there are mechanisms to fill in the vacancies in the electoral boards (the state automatically fills in the spot with an administration employee,which means more DPMNE members),everything will be clear by May 11th which is the deadline for submitting PM lists to the State Electoral Commission in order to participate in the elections.

http://mrt.com.mk/node/32121

[Tomche Makedonche]

http://www.turkishweekly.net/2016/05/10/news/albanian-opposition-takes-to-the-streets-in-macedonia/

Albanian opposition takes to the streets in Macedonia

More than 20,000 demonstrated against the Gruvski-Ahmeti alliance in Skopje, calling for a special, unbiased court in Macedonia, but warning tensions could escalate if protestor’s concerns weren’t met

More than 20,000 people replied to calls from Albanian opposition parties to peacefully march for justice in Skopje on Monday.

Albanian protesters from across Macedonia and Kosovo protested to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Kumanovo event, where 10 Albanian gunmen and eight policemen died during a gun battle.

The protests were steeped in Albanian nationalism amid anti-government sentiment, calls for justice, and the establishment of a Special Court for high-profile Albanian cases.

The protests officially opened with the playing of the Albanian anthem, and red and black Albanian symbols were scattered throughout the crowd. Chants for "Greater Albania" were heard during the entire event.

Starting in the Cair neighborhood of Skopje and ending at the Macedonian government building, protesters chanted strong anti-regime rhetoric blaming their disappointment in the country’s institutions on the coalition between former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski’s ruling party, VMRO-DPMNR and the Albanian party of Democratic Union for Integration, DUI.

Organizers compared the march to “D-Day”, drawing parallels between the protests and the beginning of fascism’s collapse.

It was a theme speakers repeated. The leader of the Besa movement, Bilall Kasami, one of two political representatives speaking in front of protesters, compared Gruevski’ and DUI leader Ali Ahmeti’s regime with fascism.

"Although fascism collapsed 71 years ago, someone here in Macedonia is trying to play the same role. There are Macedonian and Albanian parties that don't want a united Europe, but we are not going to tolerate them anymore," he said.

The DUI party and its leader, Ali Ahmeti, drew the most boos from the crowd. "Ali, the Betrayer" was the protester’s main chant. The crowd blamed the Albanian party leader for not representing their rights during the co-governance with Gruevski.

The protestors were mostly young Albanian men, many holding banners like "Stop the terror of the state", "Better protest than emigrate", "Against DUI, pro-EU and U.S", "Stop the staged court processes against Albanian" etc.

"I came here since I'm discriminated everywhere: in school, by police and state structures. But more than Gruevski, I blame Ali Ahmeti who has always taken the votes of Albanians," 18-year-old Ridvan Azizi from Tetovo told BIRN.

"Albanians dignity is mistreated within the Macedonian state and we are unprotected. It is time for them to wake up from the long sleep," 20-year-old student, Eneida Sulejmani told BIRN.

The lack of justice for Albanians featured prominently in Kasami’s speech. He asked for the creation of a special court, separate from the influence of the Macedonian government.

He asked that notorious Albanian judicial cases in Macedonia like Sopoti, Monstra and Kumanovo be judged in this special court.

"We strongly condemn Ivanov’s decision to pardon all those implicated in corruption and [his decision] to stop the Special Prosecutor’s investigations. We want a Special Court will restore Albanians trust in justice," he said.

The second and final speaker of the protest, Kim Mehmeti, spokesman for the Opposition Council, addressed why Albanians were protesting with nationalist symbols and not those of Macedonian state.

"We have been waiting 26 years to have an Albanian paragraph in the Macedonian anthem...of waiting to have an eagle in the Macedonian flag and finally to have an Albanian president or prime minister," he said.

Kosovo MP, Albin Kurti was also at the protest. As one the leaders of "Vetevendosje [Self-Determination] movement" in Kosovo, Kurti told BIRN that Albanians in Macedonia should take to the streets to gain their denied rights.

"The regime in Macedonia is discriminating against Albanians, mistreating them and economically exploiting them. It is the duty of Albanians wherever they live to join these protests. It is no longer time for press conferences and declarations; now it is time to take to the streets," he said.

The speakers announced that protests could escalate to violence in the near future if their calls for justice go unheeded.

By Fatjona Mejdini, Sinisa Jakov Marusic

[vicsinad]

"We have been waiting 26 years to have an Albanian paragraph in the Macedonian anthem...of waiting to have an eagle in the Macedonian flag and finally to have an Albanian president or prime minister," he said.

There will come a day when we say, "You know, the ventilator wasn't that bad of a flag." Because our next flag will be an eagle with an old communist star slapped on its chest.

Then in the anthem we will sing about the heroes (the Albanian heroes, not the Macedonian ones) lost in the 2001 conflict.

Still, if they even get these things, it won't be enough because:

The protests officially opened with the playing of the Albanian anthem, and red and black Albanian symbols were scattered throughout the crowd. Chants for "Greater Albania" were heard during the entire event

.

...this is their ultimate goal.

[Vangelovski]

There will come a day when we say, "You know, the ventilator wasn't that bad of a flag." Because our next flag will be an eagle with an old communist star slapped on its chest

Don't worry, it won't have the petokratka on it. But I think it will be equally bad - maybe not in an aesthetic sense, but in an ideological sense.

[DraganOfStip]

The State Electoral Commission confirmed today that one coalition and 2 political parties are the only 3 lists with candidates for parliament representatives that were submitted to them in the legal deadline: DPMNE's coalition, the party People's Movement for Macedonia and the Social Democratic Party.
Considering the fact that these 2 parties are minor and usually don't get more than 1000 votes each,it is correct to say that DPMNE chose to go to the 5th June elections alone.
The coalition led by SDSM along with DPA and Grujo's partners in the government DUI didn't submit any lists,neither did 20 other political parties and will therefore not take part in the elections.
So now if the unlikely elections on June 5th do take place,Macedonia will be entering in a new totalitarian era of yet another one-party system of governance.

http://mrt.com.mk/node/32261

[vicsinad]

Perhaps Macedonia should get the Bulgarians' and Serbs' opinions about what should be included in its new flag, as Greece and Albanians have already offered theirs. Just to be fair and to appease everyone.

As far as the elections -- wouldn't it be awesome if one of these "small" parties outperformed DPMNE? I'm saying this knowing almost next to nothing about these other parties. But it would send a message that the people are not under the thumb of either DPMNE or SDSM.

Dreams.

[Odi Zvezdo]

Ooo ooo oo...

I've got the perfect name...Illyria and The Country formerly known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia !!!

[Redsun]

The speakers announced that protests could escalate to violence in the near future if their calls for justice go unheeded.

Were any of these speaker’s announcements recorded?

I couldn’t find any other reports on this.

http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/29415/45/

Today's protest in Skopje was attended by one of the main Kosovo radicals Alban Kurti. At least seven buses from Kosovo with protesters was returned at the Macedonian border.

This, however did not stop the attendance of relatives of the Kosovo terrorists that were killed in Kumanovo. At the forefront was the family of the killed terrorist "Commandant Shqipona" who with the remaining supporters from BESA (offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood), and several wahabi organizations chanted Zaev's name and UCK.

Fortunately for everyone, Macedonian police still very much has the country's back, now that no political party appears to do so.

[DraganOfStip]

The State Electoral Commission confirmed today that one coalition and 2 political parties are the only 3 lists with candidates for parliament representatives that were submitted to them in the legal deadline: DPMNE's coalition, the party People's Movement for Macedonia and the Social Democratic Party.
Considering the fact that these 2 parties are minor and usually don't get more than 1000 votes each,it is correct to say that DPMNE chose to go to the 5th June elections alone.
The coalition led by SDSM along with DPA and Grujo's partners in the government DUI didn't submit any lists,neither did 20 other political parties and will therefore not take part in the elections.
So now if the unlikely elections on June 5th do take place,Macedonia will be entering in a new totalitarian era of yet another one-party system of governance.

http://mrt.com.mk/node/32261

Update: the State Electoral Commission confirmed today that the SDP have withdrawn their list and the PMM didn't correct the irregularities in their application in the legal timeframe so their list is rejected.
This means DPMNE will definitely go to the (unlikely) 5th June election by itself.

http://24vesti.mk/vmro-dpmne-edinstvena-partija-na-izbori

[DraganOfStip]

In a statement for Deutsche Welle,the spokesperson for the European Commission,Maja Kocijancic,stated yesterday that any government that will arise from the one-party elections on June 5th will not be recognized by the international community.

She also warned that the "latest developments" will have "serious consequences".
"We (the EC) feel that there are not even minimum conditions for enabling credible elections on June 5th in order to be recognized by the international community" she stated.
"The EC has pointed out the need of clearing the voter roll,providing balanced media reporting and investigating threats towards voters on several occasions.Under current conditions,any government that would arise from elections with 3 of the 4 biggest political parties not participating will not be a credible partner for us."

http://www.dw.com/mk/%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BB-%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B0-%D0%BD%D0%B8-%D0%BC%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BC%D1%83%D0%BC-%D1%83%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8-%D0%B7%D0%B0-%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8-%D0%BD%D0%B0-5-%D1%98%D1%83%D0%BD%D0%B8/a-19260597