Ethnic tensions in Macedonia
31/01/2012 

The ethnic and religious tensions in Struge risk going out of control. In Llabunishta, Struge, unidentified people have burned an orthodox church, but the fire scorched only its objects. 

The quick reaction of the residents put the flames away. Police says that they are working for this event that created tensions in this region of mixed ethnic population.

The former Prime Minister, Vllado Buckovski, declared that these events could cause bigger incidents.

“The burning of churches makes me fear that it is taking religious dimension, not only inter-ethnic ones. This is very dangerous and the government should prevent it, with all institutions, because we could have even bigger problems”, declared the former Prime Minister, Vllado Buckovski.

The analyst Kim Mehmeti estimates that Macedonia is the one to lose most, with these incidents.

“If the clashes continue between the people who seek gas chambers for the Albanians and those who burn the Macedonian flag, the real victim will be the country of Macedonia. If Macedonia will continue this way, they will disintegrate”, Mehmeti declared.

As regards the incidents in Struge, the European Union Office in Skopje asked the Macedonian Authorities to bring the authors of the recent incidents to justice.

The relations between the Albanians and the Macedonians deteriorated after a carnival that was held at the Vevçani commune, near Struge, in which the Macedonians offended the Albanians and Quran.

Thousands of Struge Albanians protested last week against the Vevcan carnival and burned the Macedonian flag.