Macedonia Faces Protests Following Claims Of Government Corruption And Killings
After months of campaigns and demonstrations through the capital city of Skopje, citizens of Macedonia gathered yesterday for the biggest protest yet to ask its Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski to resign from his position. Around 20,000 people gathered in front of the Parliamentary house in a peaceful protest organized by the opposition party led by Zoran Zaev.
People were seen waving the Macedonian, Albanian and Turkish flags to show that each nationality is united in forcing the Prime Minister to resign after hidden recordings have been leaked showing ministers planning vote-rigging and also the cover-up of a murder.
The protests began a few months ago when the opposition’s leader Zaev released dozens of recordings of private conversations from the Prime Minister’s office where he was discussing plans for cover ups, killings and media control with his closest ministers.
The public uproar began after the case of a young man’s murder following the last elections in which the public believe the present government had involvement, both in the crime itself and in its cover up.
Just over a week ago in the city of Kumanovo, terrorists attacked a Police Department and killed nine officers in an attack. This incident is thought to have been paid for and organized by the government to turn heads away from the previous murder case and call up nationalistic separation.
Prime Minister Gruevski has said he has not been involved in any illegal activity and refuses to resign, he has claimed that the accusations have been manufactured by the opposition and spy agencies trying to overthrow his government.
Since February Zaev’s party brought numerous pieces of evidence against Gruevski’s government and so far Minister Intelligence Chief Saso Mijalkov and Interior Minister Gordana Jankulovski resigned over claims of corruption, phone tapping and media control accusations.
The opposition has boycotted Parliament since the last elections held in April last year, saying they were fixed in order to keep Gruevski in charge.
Yesterday’s protest included various speakers, musicians and at the end a speech from Zaev.