Sunday, May 17, 2015

Anti-government protesters wave Albanian and Macedonian flags during a demonstration in Skopje, Macedonia, May 17, 2015

© REUTERS/ Marko Djurica
Europe
A mass anti-government protest in Macedonia launched by the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) opposition party kicked off in the country's capital Skopje Sunday, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported.
 
SKOPJE (Sputnik) Several thousand people gathered outside of the government buildings in the Skopje central square, carrying Macedonian flags and demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. Police are surrounding the square. On Friday, the SDSM head Zoran Zaev stated that about 70,000 will be joining the rally. According to Zaev, all participants have been instructed to bring cameras to record potential police violence.

The protest comes during the time of political instability in Macedonia.
On May 6, at least 40 people, including 38 police officers, were injured during anti-government protests in Skopje.

The violent political protests began in the capital after Zaev accused the prime minister of concealing the circumstances surrounding the death of 22-year-old Martin Neskovski in June 2011.

The young man was beaten to death by Gruevski's body guard, Zaev claims.

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