2012 Republic of Macedonia inter-ethnic violence

2012 Republic of Macedonia inter-ethnic violence
Date	14 January 2012 – May 2012
Location	Republic of Macedonia
Parties to the civil conflict
Ethnic Albanians Ethnic Macedonians
Casualties
Death(s)	7
Injuries	10[1]

The 2012 Republic of Macedonia inter-ethnic violence started in early 2012 and involved ethnic Macedonians and Albanians of the Republic of Macedonia.

Religious incidents

Some Muslims took offense to costumes worn by ethnic Macedonians on January 14, 2012 at the annual carnival in Vevčani. It was followed by several protests by ethnic Albanians. On January 30, arsonists set fire to an Orthodox church near Struga in southwest Macedonia.^[2]

Ethnic violence

On February 28, a policeman killed two ethnic Albanians in Gostivar, Macedonia after the policeman stated he was attacked by the Albanians for refusing to park in a different location.^[3]

By March 9, there has been a wave of inter-ethnic violent acts. On March 7, five persons were beaten in a bus in the capital, Skopje.^[4]

On March 10, several acts of violence were recorded in Skopje and Tetovo. In Skopje, a group of youngsters beat a 66 year old. In addition, a wooden bridge over the Vardar river was burned.^[1] In Tetovo, ethnic Albanians beat a 16-year-old girl.^[5] Also, a policeman was physically assaulted. Five people were arrested.^[1]

On late April 12, four young men were abducted and killed in an execution-style killing near the capital, Skopje. A fifth man was killed soon afterwards, probably because he witnessed the event. The dead were confirmed as being ethnic Macedonian, and anti-Albanian protests erupted soon afterwards.^[6]

Macedonian protests

Throughout Macedonia many protests were organised in a variety of cities and villages, two of which turned violent: the village Smilkovci from where the victims came from and in the city of Skopje.

The Skopje protest was organised by youths. The protesters wanted to march in the Saraj Municipality where there is an Albanian-speaking majority. The protesters ware stopped by the police and there started a 10-minute conflict between the police and the protesters.^[7] The protesters were recorded chanting “a good Shqiptar is a dead Shqiptar” and “gas chambers for Shqiptars”.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Another large peaceful protest was organised in Čkembari.^[12]

Albanian protests

Albanian Protesters holding various signs, including at least one stating "I am Muslim I am not a terrorist." At least one other protester is instead holding the Black Flag of Jihad or the Saudi flag.

On 4 May 2012, 1,500-3,000 ethnic Albanians protested in [15]^[16][17]

On 11 May 2012, 5,000 ^[18]-10,000^[19] Albanians protested in front of the government building in Skopje, Macedonia. They waved Albanian flags, Saudi flags and shouted "Muslims are not Terrorists!", “We are not Terrorists, we are Muslims”, “KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army)”, “Greater Albania”, "Murderers", "UÇK" and smashed windows in government offices and court buildings. Six policemen, one reporter and one cameraman were lightly injured. The demonstrators also carried banners saying that “Serbs and ethnic-Macedonians” were responsible for the quintuple murder.^{[20][21][22][23][24]}

See also

• Insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia
• Smilkovci lake killings

References