Thousands protest against Macedonian government

SKOPJE: More than 20,000 people rallied in Macedonia’s capital on Sunday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski’s government which is grappling with a deep political crisis and an outbreak of violence.
Waving Macedonian, but also Albanian flags, opposition protesters chanted “Victory! Victory!” at the demonstration in Skopje, the culmination of months of wrangling between Gruevski and his center-left opponents that has already sparked clashes.
Macedonia’s problems deepened last weekend when 18 people were killed in a shootout in the northern town of Kumanovo between police and ethnic Albanian rebels.
The main opposition leader, Zoran Zaev, has vowed that Sunday’s protest will be peaceful, although the police brought in large supplies of anti-riot gear.
On a warm day, volunteers left bottles of water in front of the government building, in expectation of a long day.
Zaev said protesters would remain in front of the government building until Gruevski — who has been in power for nine years — and his cabinet stands down. “The protest will continue. Some 4,600 activists, mostly young people, have said ‘we’ll stay regardless of whether you will or not’,” he told the NOVA online television channel.
At the protest, Aleksandar Krstevski, a 33-year-old psychologist from Kumanovo, told AFP: “We will stay as long as it takes, until the final victory, until the prime minister’s resignation.”
Carrying a placard with the inscription “Goodbye Nikola,” 29-year old Jelena said “there is a need to finish with this government.”
The unrest last weekend was the worst in the former Yugoslav republic since its 2001 conflict between the government and ethnic Albanian rebels.
Eight police officers were among the 18 dead.
Thirty alleged gunmen, including 18 ethnic Albanians from neighboring Kosovo, have been charged with terror offenses following the shootout.
But the opposition and analysts have suggested the timing of the violence was suspicious, given the huge pressure on Gruevski’s government.
Zaev’s opposition Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) is calling for the government to resign, accusing the ruling party of wiretapping 20,000 people, including politicians, journalists and religious leaders.