Macedonia riot: Protesters storm President’s office following wire tapping pardons scandal

Published on Apr 14, 2016

An anti-government protest in the Macedonian capital of Skopje has resulted in violence, with police being involved in clashes with demonstrators who have stormed the president's office.
http://on.rt.com/79y8/

http://www.rt.com/news/339488-macedonia-protests-clashes-arrests/ * 2 Videos & 7 pics from Tw@tter *
rt.com
Protesters throw flares, clash with police, storm presidential HQ in Macedonian capital

An anti-government protest in the Macedonian capital of Skopje has resulted in violence, with police being reportedly involved in clashes with demonstrators who have reportedly stormed the president's office.

The protest began Wednesday daytime and reportedly accumulated some three thousand people.

The protest entered its second day, with no violence having been reported on Tuesday.

After breaking through a police cordon, the crowds moved towards parliamentary buildings, burning pictures of Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov on their way.

In central Skopje, in the vicinity of the president’s office, violence reportedly continued, with protesters throwing flares and eggs at the premises.

Tensions escalated after a group of people tried to enter the office, Balkan Insight reported. A number of people have been injured, with medics providing assistance to those at the scene.

A journalist is reportedly among the injured.

Twelve people have reportedly been detained, police said.

The public office of Ivanov in #Skopje has been completely demolished.
— Ivana Jordanovska (@JordanIva) April 13, 2016

The situation in the Balkan nation has been tense since March, after Macedonia's constitutional court allowed the president to pardon politicians accused of electoral fraud. Thousands have taken to the streets of Skopje following the decision. Riot police had to barricade the streets leading to the court building to prevent clashes between government supporters and protesters.
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http://youtu.be/8sx7JJQ5y1A/ 00:05:41- RT- News





http://www.yahoo.com/news/war-games-greece-near-macedonia-turkey-amid-migration-111941373.html?ref=gs/

War games in Greece near Macedonia, Turkey amid migration row

Athens (AFP) - The Greek army on Thursday staged a double military exercise on its border with Macedonia and an island cluster near Turkey, officials said, amid tension with Skopje over the refugee crisis.

"Emergency manoeuvres have been ordered in Kilkis (in northern Greece) and Oinousses (in the eastern Aegean)," an army general staff source told AFP.

Another general staff source added that the exercise in northern Greece involved an airborne special forces unit backed by air support.

The second exercise in the Oinousses area, centred on the island of Chios, would involve anti-aircraft units, the second officer added.

Near Kilkis, an AFP reporter said warplanes were seen flying above the border camp of Idomeni which is housing some 11,000 refugees and migrants -- many of them Syrian families suffering from the experience of air raids during the civil war in their country.

An airforce source said the areas chosen for the exercise were "in the news" in recent days.

Greece this week said Turkish warplanes had repeatedly entered the Athens flight information region (FIR), flying over the Oinousses island cluster.

Turkey disputes whether the area should be administered by Greece.

On Sunday, Greek media said Macedonian riot police had briefly entered Greek territory to push back migrants attempting to breach a wire fence on the border with Greece.

The Greek government later strongly denied this.

"We have to instill a sense of security to people (living on the border)," a military source told AFP.

The Macedonian operation on Sunday sparked a political row, with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accusing Skopje of "shaming" Europe by using tear gas and rubber bullets against unarmed migrants.

Macedonia denied using rubber bullets and said the migrants had thrown stones at its officers, injuring several.

More tear gas as migrants vent frustration at Idomeni http://youtu.be/M7otWi_TFbg/
00:00:54 - Euro News

(At least 7 videos today on migrant riots & police at the Macedonian/ Greece border)

Balkans been a Trouble-spot for Centuries.
Serbs want it,Greeks want it,Bulgarians and Albanians want it!

Well.. I don't blame them for wanting political leaders to face the same justice they would have to.

And I don't blame the police for having to use tear gas on ' seekers', not with the videotape I have seen.
One stands out.. A man took a woman's ( a strangers ), baby girl (infant), a threatened to throw her at police, he had the baby over his head screaming!

Other migrants took the newborn baby off him & gave her back to the mother.
But how. The police did not shoot him or arrest him, I have NO idea!
But.. arresting him would mean, bringing him across the border!
Shooting him, would of endangered everyone standing near & behind him.

Send him back to where ever!

The only thing that's certain in that region, is that it IS a huge mess. And it's not just blather to say that, the point is, that some situations are very complicated, very messy, and are both extremely difficult, and impossibly expensive to solve rapidly and painlessly.

As Sassyeuro observes about the vile man who got away with threatening to use a child as a weapon, there are times when we have to accept that some things are going to remain a problem for a while longer.

The problem of the Syrian refugees is a direct result of the imperfect and conflicting "solutions" being attempted by competing interests in the Middle East in general. No one who is contending there (the Russians, the Syrian Government, the US, ISIS, and all the other contenders pretending to be working with one of those groups) has made any effort or allowance for the fact that they are creating refugees on a massive scale. And one by one, the other states in the region have dealt with the refugees by passing them through, so now we have problems everywhere in Europe and indeed the world.

The recent decision of some states to close their borders instead of allowing the flow of refugees to continue, was bound to have this reaction. Anyone who expected the result of closed borders to be all that mix of desperate and other-motivated people to calmly sit down and say "oh, sorry, we'll just wait here," was at best, a fool.

The only thing that's certain in that region, is that it IS a huge mess. And it's not just blather to say that, the point is, that some situations are very complicated, very messy, and are both extremely difficult, and impossibly expensive to solve rapidly and painlessly.

As Sassyeuro observes about the vile man who got away with threatening to use a child as a weapon, there are times when we have to accept that some things are going to remain a problem for a while longer.

IgorFrankensteen & I agree.
3 times in 2 weeks! Look out world! You have been warned.
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The problem of the Syrian refugees is a direct result of the imperfect and conflicting "solutions" being attempted by competing interests in the Middle East in general. No one who is contending there (the Russians, the Syrian Government, the US, ISIS, and all the other contenders pretending to be working with one of those groups) has made any effort or allowance for the fact that they are creating refugees on a massive scale. And one by one, the other states in the region have dealt with the refugees by passing them through, so now we have problems everywhere in Europe and indeed the world.

And all of this could of been avoided entirely... in soooo.. many ways, it is pointless to list them & it solves nothing. But... I find it very ditoicult to believe that world leaders didn't think outside the box or project the future.
If you have open house... People will show up, & even stay, for a party & free sh@t, even when the party is over.
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The recent decision of some states to close their borders instead of allowing the flow of refugees to continue, was bound to have this reaction. Anyone who expected the result of closed borders to be all that mix of desperate and other-motivated people to calmly sit down and say "oh, sorry, we'll just wait here," was at best, a fool.

Here we just disagree on phraseology. I don't see them as 'refugees', & never did. Governments & the media are finally changing their tune & terms; slightly.
European countries had to close borders & has the right to do so. Some seekers are definitely trapped there in the region (& disease is spreading). However, people kept coming AFTER the borders were closed or are intentionally headed across borders to counties that WERE offering the most free benefits. So those are in a predicament of their own making.
Unfortunately many (no matter why they are there), think if they carry on enough they will gain entry & get what they want.... Like toddlers having a temper tantrum. Give into it, & each subsequent tantrum the child will become more aggressive & even violent, when they don't get their way.

And let's not forget the Arab Emirates. Who have done nothing to help. Or Turkey, who has taken many people, but is refusing all Syrians, no matter the circumstances.
*/Technically all counties have the right to refuse for whatever reason * But.. No one can expect Europe to except an endless stream of people. And no one can expect North America to, just because the EU thinks in terms of European 'States', & not individual countries & cultures.

Well, they certainly haven't shown any evidence that they are organized invaders.

But I agree with you that these people are certainly behaving a lot differently than others who have fled conflicts in that area. So far, no one has reported any serious investigation results, finding out what IS going on.

It seems to be a little bit similar to what we've seen from Cuba at it's worst. With "undesirables" filling many of the ranks of the people showing up.

If this was a terrorist plan, I would expect them to be well behaved, in order to lull everyone in to sympathetically taking them in, but that's nothing like what's been happening. Instead, we've seen a LOT of misbehavior and abuses. Not everyone, but enough to set suspicious and worried people off. With the Cuban situation, there might have even been a purposeful effort by the Cuban government to release it's expensive criminals into our care. Maybe Syria is pulling a similar stunt, I don't know.

It might also be true, that the reason for so many energetically nasty people showing up, is that they have the greatest physical ability to force their way out of Syria, and across other borders.

Macedonia In Revolution

Jun 6, 2016

‘Colors of revolution': Protesters fire paint-bombs at government building in Macedonia

http://youtu.be/wN5rjaEwaF4/
03:20 - RT- News

Thousands of people marched through the Macedonian capital Skopje and threw paint bombs at a government building. The protesters are demanding the government's resignation.

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This is far more serious than it appears. This has been going on for at least 2 consecutive months.

Does anyone have any news that is NOT from Washington DC & is NOT about refugees'.

I am finding very little.

‘Colorful revolutionaries’ fire paint-bombs at Macedonia government HQ & police (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Thousands of protesters have marched through Macedonia’s capital and pelted paint-bombs at the main government building and police. They urged the government’s resignation, despite President Gjorge Ivanov recently ceding to opposition demands.

More than 5,000 demonstrators led by opposition leader Zoran Zaev marched from the prosecutor’s office to the government headquarters in Skopje on Monday. The demonstrators deployed makeshift slingshots and fired paint-filled balloons at the government buildings and police officers.

Although the demonstrators welcomed Gjorge Ivanov’s decision to rescind pardons for government officials caught in a recent wire-tapping scandal, they said it was not enough. They demanded his resignation and the full prosecution of those who were implicated.

The demonstrators also demanded the release of protesters who had been detained earlier and a halt to all proceedings against them. Pictures on Twitter showed much of the ground covered in red paint to mark the death of 22-year-old Martin Neskoski, who was fatally beaten by police
Facing pressure from the opposition, the leader of the Republic of Macedonia Gjorge Ivanov on Monday rescinded pardons which had been handed to 34 figures allegedly involved in a wiretapping scandal in a bid to resolve the crisis. Last month he had called off his decision to pardon 22 other suspects.

“In the past 10 days we have been witnesses of different interpretations of the decision to pardon ... therefore I have decided to annul the remaining decision for pardoning,” he said in a statement.

But any further concessions made by the Macedonian government will only lead to more demands from the opposition, believes editor of Culture Wars magazine Mike Jones. He told RT that the current protests in Macedonia resemble a typical “color revolution” and that the ongoing “Ukrainization of Macedonia” is just “another front in the same war.”

The wiretapping scandal broke out in Macedonia in 2015 when opposition leader Zoran Zaev provided samples of recordings that appeared to have been made of politicians, judges, journalists and others. As a result, a series of mass protests erupted in Skopje in May 2015. The crisis which was first halted through negotiations between the government and opposition with the help of EU resumed in April 2016 in a form of the so-called “colorful revolution.”

An EU-brokered deal required Macedonia’s government to hold early parliamentary elections, however, the unrest and opposition parties’ unwillingness to participate led to the postponement of parliamentary elections that were set for June 5

http://www.rt.com/news/345638-colorful-revolution-macedonia-protest/