Latest News & Developments

[vicsinad]

Oh, Macedonia.

Macedonia parliament attack amnesty sparks prison protest

SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — Hundreds of inmates at Macedonia's main prison outside the capital have refused to accept meals to press demands that an amnesty expected to be granted for suspects involved in a violent political protest at parliament last year be expanded to other offences.

Justice Ministry officials said Monday that around 600 inmates were taking part in the protest, adding that the government had flatly ruled out considering their demands.

The prisoners have reportedly warned that their families and supporters are also planning protests outside the jail in solidarity.

Draft legislation granting a general amnesty to suspects involved in the 2017 parliament attack by pro-conservative protesters is due to be submitted to the legislature by the end of the week.

The attack left more than 100 people injured, including lawmakers and journalists.

[Phoenix]

Originally Posted by vicsinad

Oh, Macedonia.

Macedonia parliament attack amnesty sparks prison protest

...and after the murderers, rapists, thugs and thieves, it will be those with speeding fines and parking infringements, then all recipients of red cards from last weekends football matches...

[Momce Makedonce]

Don't know much about the people in the vid, but I like the way they defended and spoke about the original Macedonian Sun.

https://www.facebook.com/10000671644...0591131174746/

[Gocka]

Nice to see and hear, even though these moments are few and far between, they still give me hope that one day we can overcome all this madness.

Originally Posted by Momce Makedonce

Don't know much about the people in the vid, but I like the way they defended and spoke about the original Macedonian Sun.

https://www.facebook.com/10000671644...0591131174746/

[Karposh]

Originally Posted by Momce Makedonce

Don't know much about the people in the vid, but I like the way they defended and spoke about the original Macedonian Sun.

https://www.facebook.com/10000671644...0591131174746/

Inspirational video indeed MM. So good to see. That pathetic disgrace of a police officer that rang up to bitch to his superiors that a Macedonian flag was on display at the protest should be ashamed of himself. If he is a Macedonian then he should hang his head in shame, that absolute pig. Like the good man defending the flag said, thousands of shiptar flags are being allowed to fly in Tetovo and other places in Macedonia, and this, a Macedonian flag in the capital of Macedonia, is apparently a problem for him. No doubt he would have received his orders from above but what a servile dumb cunt just the same. These type of so-called Macedonians need to be culled out of the general Macedonian population and not allowed to reproduce.

[Carlin]

URL:
http://www.ekathimerini.com/235554/a...onian-language

Reigniting the controversy over the issue of a "Macedonian" language, Premier Zoran Zaev said Monday, “It is important that both sides be careful about our phraseology.”

“It’s a fact that the [name] agreement contains a reference to a ‘Macedonian language,’ it’s a fact that this belongs to the Southern Slavic languages and this is… part of the agreement, as is the fact that we shall be named Republic of North Macedonia,” he said.

Meanwhile Monday, House Speaker Talat Xhaferi said he expected a vote by MPs on the final amendments to revise the constitution in accordance with the Prespes accord will most likely be held on January 15.

[Rogi]

Originally Posted by Momce Makedonce

Don't know much about the people in the vid, but I like the way they defended and spoke about the original Macedonian Sun.

https://www.facebook.com/10000671644...0591131174746/

I'm not sure who the first person that speaks is, however the person speaking to the camera in front of the flag is Filip Petrovski who is a former Member of Parliament from VMRO-DPMNE and an active member of DPMNE and one of those opposing Mickoski for the leadership of the party.

[Carlin]

Macedonia Moves Forward With Amnesty Law

A much-disputed law offering an amnesty to some of those involved in last year’s mob attack on the Macedonian parliament is moving closer towards adoption, following completion of a draft law.

URL:
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/arti...ard-12-13-2018

The Macedonian parliament’s so-called committee on reconciliation finished drafting a law on Wednesday offering an amnesty to those who took part in last year’s violent rampage in parliament.

If matters go as planned, the law will soon find itself on the list for speedy adoption.

The draft law will offer amnesty only to those who did not personally commit any violent acts in the rampage and who did not organize the events, an opposition VMRO DPMNE MP, Zekir Ramcilovic, told the media on Wednesday.

Ramcilovic, who is a member of the committee that worked on the draft, insisted that the amnesty will not diminish the importance of the ongoing trial against 33 suspects accused of participating in the violence of April 27, 2017.

“This way, we think the process [the ongoing trial] which should provide answers about what happened on April 27 will continue, and we will have a legal ending where justice finds its place,” he said.

Meanwhile, the MP added: “We will have an amnesty for some of the people who were part of the events, and so we are making the first step towards relaxing the divisions in society that emerged after this event”.

The parliamentary committee will likely soon submit the draft for adoption at a plenary session, under a shortened procedure.

The planned “selective” amnesty has drawn much criticism for the country's Social Democrat Prime Minister, Zoran Zaev.

Critics accuse him of trading the rule of law for opposition votes in order to reach the political goal of implementing the historic agreement with Greece on the country's name.

This would then unlock Macedonia’s stalled Euro-Atlantic integration process, allowing it to join NATO and open talks on membership with the EU. Zaev has repeated that he is willing to “pay a political price” for the amnesty.

The body that worked on the amnesty was formed on the initiative of the eight opposition MPs, seven of whom are now excluded from VMRO DPNNE.

This is because in October they provided Zaev with crucial support for the start of the parliamentary procedure on the Greek deal – while conditioning their further support on progress in reconciliation that would include an amnesty.

Three of the eight opposition MPs are among those on trial for involvement in the attack on parliament.

The final vote on the constitutional changes that form part of the Greek deal is expected on January 15.

The opposition VMRO DPMNE leadership is not part of this reconciliation process. It has demanded an amnesty for all the defendants in the trial over the rampage in parliament.

URL:
https://a1on.mk/archives/988160



When all is said and done there may be more than 80 MPs who will vote Yes for the constitutional changes on January 15.

[vicsinad]

Serbia talks up armed intervention as Kosovo approves new army

Serbia has talked up the possibility of an armed intervention in Kosovo after the parliament in Pristina overwhelmingly approved the formation of an army.

Belgrade called the move the “most direct threat to peace and stability in the region”, while Nato’s chief said it was “ill-timed” and urged dialogue.

All present 107 politicians in the 120-seat Kosovan parliament voted in favour of passing three draft laws to expand an existing 4,000 Kosovo security force and turn it into a regular, lightly armed army. Ethnic Serb politicians boycotted the vote.

Serbia insists the new army violates a UN resolution that ended Kosovo’s 1998-99 war of independence. It has warned bluntly that it may respond with an armed intervention in the former province. The Serbian prime minister, Ana Brnabić, said this was “one of the options on the table”.

The president, Aleksandar Vučić, visited Serbian troops on the border with Kosovo on Friday. Nikola Selaković, an adviser to Vučić, said Serbia could send in armed forces or declare Kosovo an occupied territory. The foreign minister, Ivica Dačić, said Serbia would seek an urgent session of the United Nations security council over the issue.
In Serb-dominated northern Kosovo, the Serb leader Goran Rakić said the new army was “unacceptable” and “showed clearly that Pristina does not want peace.” Rakić urged Serbs in Kosovo to show “restraint and not respond to provocations”.

In a sign of defiance, Serbs in the north displayed Serbian flags on streets and balconies, while Nato-led peacekeepers were deployed on a bridge in the ethnically divided northern town of Mitrovica.
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Russia’s foreign ministry denounced the Kosovan move and said the army must be disbanded.

Any Serbian armed intervention in Kosovo would mean a direct confrontation with thousands of Nato-led peacekeepers, including US soldiers, stationed in Kosovo since 1999.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move not recognised by Belgrade or its ally Russia, and tensions have remained high between the two sides.

Nato and the European Union, which has led years-long talks to improve ties between the Balkan neighbours, expressed regret that Kosovo had decided to go ahead with the army formation.

“I reiterate my call on both Pristina and Belgrade to remain calm and refrain from any statements or actions which may lead to escalation,” said Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary general.

The army will preserve its current name, Kosovo Security Force, but will have a new mandate. In about a decade the army expects to have 5,000 troops and 3,000 reservists, and a €98m annual budget. It will handle crisis response and civil protection operations – essentially what the current paramilitary force, which is lightly armed, does. Its main tasks will be search and rescue, firefighting and disposal of explosive ordnance and hazardous material.

It was not immediately clear how much more equipment or weapons the army will have.

Serbia fears the move’s main purpose is to chase the Serb minority out Kosovo’s north, a claim strongly denied by Pristina.

The US reaffirmed its support for “the gradual transition … to a force with a territorial defence mandate, as is Kosovo’s sovereign right.”

The Kosovan war ended with a 78-day Nato air campaign in June 1999 that halted a Serbian crackdown against ethnic Albanian separatists.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...erbia-and-nato

[Gocka]

Some pretty over the top claims there, I wonder how serious the Serbs are about getting into an armed conflict. Pre Trump I would have said that there is no change, but now, I guess anything is possible.

I can imagine a scenario where Serbia does something bold, Russia backs them up, and the US sits this one out. It would be a total 180 on the US's part, but it seems that's what Trump is going for on most positions.

If the Serbs were ever serious about doing something, this point in time is probably the only potential opening they will get. Otherwise when Stumpy is out of office, all bets are off.

Originally Posted by vicsinad

Serbia talks up armed intervention as Kosovo approves new army

Serbia has talked up the possibility of an armed intervention in Kosovo after the parliament in Pristina overwhelmingly approved the formation of an army.

Belgrade called the move the “most direct threat to peace and stability in the region”, while Nato’s chief said it was “ill-timed” and urged dialogue.

All present 107 politicians in the 120-seat Kosovan parliament voted in favour of passing three draft laws to expand an existing 4,000 Kosovo security force and turn it into a regular, lightly armed army. Ethnic Serb politicians boycotted the vote.

Serbia insists the new army violates a UN resolution that ended Kosovo’s 1998-99 war of independence. It has warned bluntly that it may respond with an armed intervention in the former province. The Serbian prime minister, Ana Brnabić, said this was “one of the options on the table”.

The president, Aleksandar Vučić, visited Serbian troops on the border with Kosovo on Friday. Nikola Selaković, an adviser to Vučić, said Serbia could send in armed forces or declare Kosovo an occupied territory. The foreign minister, Ivica Dačić, said Serbia would seek an urgent session of the United Nations security council over the issue.
In Serb-dominated northern Kosovo, the Serb leader Goran Rakić said the new army was “unacceptable” and “showed clearly that Pristina does not want peace.” Rakić urged Serbs in Kosovo to show “restraint and not respond to provocations”.

In a sign of defiance, Serbs in the north displayed Serbian flags on streets and balconies, while Nato-led peacekeepers were deployed on a bridge in the ethnically divided northern town of Mitrovica.
Advertisement

Russia’s foreign ministry denounced the Kosovan move and said the army must be disbanded.

Any Serbian armed intervention in Kosovo would mean a direct confrontation with thousands of Nato-led peacekeepers, including US soldiers, stationed in Kosovo since 1999.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move not recognised by Belgrade or its ally Russia, and tensions have remained high between the two sides.

Nato and the European Union, which has led years-long talks to improve ties between the Balkan neighbours, expressed regret that Kosovo had decided to go ahead with the army formation.

“I reiterate my call on both Pristina and Belgrade to remain calm and refrain from any statements or actions which may lead to escalation,” said Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary general.

The army will preserve its current name, Kosovo Security Force, but will have a new mandate. In about a decade the army expects to have 5,000 troops and 3,000 reservists, and a €98m annual budget. It will handle crisis response and civil protection operations – essentially what the current paramilitary force, which is lightly armed, does. Its main tasks will be search and rescue, firefighting and disposal of explosive ordnance and hazardous material.

It was not immediately clear how much more equipment or weapons the army will have.

Serbia fears the move’s main purpose is to chase the Serb minority out Kosovo’s north, a claim strongly denied by Pristina.

The US reaffirmed its support for “the gradual transition … to a force with a territorial defence mandate, as is Kosovo’s sovereign right.”

The Kosovan war ended with a 78-day Nato air campaign in June 1999 that halted a Serbian crackdown against ethnic Albanian separatists.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...erbia-and-nato