Macedonia on the edge

Is the “Macedonian Spring” under way? A so-called anti-terror operation by the government has left more than twenty dead as the small Balkan nation, already in political crisis, is now facing even more uncertainty.

For weeks, anger over allegations of electoral fraud and authoritarian rule against prime minister Nikola Gruevski has spilled on to streets. The country’s opposition party led by Zoran Zaev has been leaking audio recordings that appear, if authentic, to show the government’s complicity in criminal activity and police brutality. Tensions came to a head recently when protesters and police crossed paths in a fury of water cannons and smoke bombs. On Tuesday, the prime minister asked his minister of the interior to resign, a move seen by many as a way to pacify demonstrators.

The EU and NATO have called for calm amid fear of rising ethnic tensions. Anti-government protesters have vowed they will take to the streets every night until the prime minister and his cabinet resign. Is Macedonia’s stability under threat? Join the conversation at 1930GMT.

In this episode of The Stream, we speak to: 
 

Andreja Bogdanovski @BogdanovskiA
Security Analyst, Analytica
www.analyticamk.org/en

Jasmina Golubovska 
Activist
www.mhc.org.mk

Nikola Dimitrov @Dimitrov_Nikola
Former Ambassador, Macedonia
thehagueinstituteforglobaljustice.org

Cvetin Chilimanov
Journalist, Macedonian Information Agency
www.mia.mk

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.