2015 Macedonian protests

2015 Macedonian protests
Part of '2015-16 Macedonian political crisis'
Date4 May — 19 June 2015
Location
Mostly in Skopje, Macedonia, and in some other parts of the country such as Bitola, Kumanovo, Ohrid and Prilep
Caused by
  • Wiretapping involving Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski[1]
  • Clues for corruption scandals involving ministers, mayors and other persons
  • Police brutality[1]
GoalsForce Prime Minister Gruevski and his cabinet to resign[2]
Resulted in
  • Several ministers resigned during the protests;[3]
  • Przino Agreement
  • Early general elections on 05 June 2016;
  • New transitional (technical) government with SDSM ministers from 15 October 2015;
  • Resignation from Nikola Gruevski in January 2016
Parties
Lead figures
Number

May 5:
Around 5,000 protesters (in Skopje)[2]
May 6:
15,000 Anti-government demonstrators (in Skopje) May 7:
10,000 Anti-government demonstrators (in Skopje)

May 17:
70,000-110,000[4][5]

Unknown number of police officers

May 18:

30,000—70,000 government supporters[6][7]
Casualties and losses
May 5:
At least 19 protestors injured[8]
May 5:
Between 10—38 policemen injured[1][2]

In May 2015, protests occurred in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, against the incumbent Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and his government.[1][2] Protests began following charges being brought up against Zoran Zaev, the Social Democratic opposition leader, who responded by alleging that Gruevski had 20,000 Macedonian officials and other figures wiretapped, and covered up the murder of a young man by a police officer in 2011.[8][9] A protest with up to 2,000 attendees occurred on May 5, seeing clashes between activists and police.[9]

Several ministers, including the interior minister, resigned during the protests.[10] Gruevski himself refused to step down, saying on May 16 that "if I back down it would be a cowardly move. I’ll face down the attacks.”[11]

Protests continued through the month, and a large gathering of anti-government protestors was held in Skopje on May 17.[11] The number of protesters that turned up on Sunday, May 17 is estimated in the tens of thousands (40,000+).[12] Zaev claimed that the number of attendees at the rally on Sunday was more than 100,000 (between 100,000 and 120,000).[13] On May 18, a large pro-government rally occurred of Gruevski's supporters, said to be in the tens of thousands.[6] Estimates put pro-government supporters at around 30,000.[7] On May 19, Gruevski and Zaev met for talks, with several members of the European Parliament also present, in Strasbourg. The negotiations lasted for twelve hours but resulted in no agreements. On his return flight to Macedonia, Gruevski's plane made an emergency landing in Zürich after decompression in the air occurred.[14][15]

  1. ^ a b c d Thousands in Macedonia protest alleged police brutality. ABC News. Published May 8, 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d Macedonian protestors demand resignation of cabinet, clash with police. Reuters. Published May 5, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  3. ^ "Macedonia ministers resign amid phone-tapping scandal". BBC News. 13 May 2015.
  4. ^ Macedonia protests: Anti-Gruevski rally in Skopje. BBC News. Guy De Launey. Published May 17, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  5. ^ Macedonian PM under increasing pressure as tens of thousands take the streets. The Guardian. May 17, 2015.
  6. ^ a b Macedonia's embattled leader rallies supporters in show of force. The Star. Kole Casule. Published May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  7. ^ a b Tens of thousands rally for Macedonia PM as opposition digs in. Yahoo News. Published May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  8. ^ a b At least 19 injured in Macedonia anti-government protest. Yahoo News. Published May 5, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  9. ^ a b Macedonian protesters demand resignation of cabinet, clash with police, Reuters (May 5, 2015).
  10. ^ Macedonia on high alert as protests grow over wire taps scandal. The New Zealand Herald. Glen Johnson. Published May 16, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  11. ^ a b Wire-tap scandal brings thousands out against Macedonian leader. Reuters. Matt Robinson and Fatos Bytyci. Published May 17, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  12. ^ Day, Matthew (May 17, 2015). "Up to 40,000 protesters call for Macedonian government to resign". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  13. ^ Protesting Macedonians Demand Government's Resignation. The New York Times. Published May 17, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  14. ^ Emergency landing for Macedonia PM. Irish Examiner. Published May 21, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference journal was invoked but never defined (see the help page).