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Southeast Europe
December 1, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 15
been appointed, warns that “If poisoning the well is their goal, the Russians have done an admirable job ... much damage was done to the country’s cohesion over the past year and every new round of political wrangling is fraught with tension. If the past is any guide, Russia will not quit stirring the pot.”
The primary policy recommendation from the
Macedonian ex-interior minister among 36 arrested for violent incidents in parliament
bne IntelliNews
A top Macedonian conservative politician has been arrested for allowing protesters close to his own party to attack parliament and assault depu- ties from the then opposition Social Democrats during the country's political crisis in the spring. Mitko Cavkov and 35 other people were ordered to be detained early on November 28 in connection with violent protests in the parliament at the end of April, when several MPs were injured.
At the time of the incidents, Cavkov, from the now opposition VMRO-DPMNE, led the operational command centre of the interior ministry. He is accused of failing to give an order to police offic- ers to stop the violence, thus putting in danger the life of lawmakers and journalists who were in the assembly building.
More than 100 people, including the then opposi- tion leader Zoran Zaev, who is now prime min- ister, and Radmila Sekerinska, who now serves as defence minister, as well as other MPs were injured when angry demonstrators broke into
Atlantic Council is for a permanent US military presence in the region; it proposes Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo as “ideal” for the purpose.
“Such an announcement would demonstrate an enduring US commitment to security in the region and anchor the United States’ long-term ability to influence developments,” the report explains.
Prime Minister Zoran Zaev was injured in the violent attack on the parliament, which was unprotected by police.
the parliament on April 27. The violence started after the parliamentary majority, led by Zaev’s Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) elected Talat Xhaferi from the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) as speak- er, which opened the way for Social Democrats to form a government. Conservative VMRO-DPMNE, which had ruled since 2006 narrowly won the December 2016 snap election, but failed to form a government due to the lack of support from ethnic Albanian parties.
The arrested are suspected for a “terrorist threat to the constitutional order”, the public prosecution office said in a statement on November 28. They can face prison sentences of up to 10 years.
"The public prosecution office has completed the pre-trial procedure and after reviewing the evidenc- es it issued an order for launching an investigative procedure against 36 people," the statement said. "The operation started in the morning and among arrested is former director of the Bureau for Public