30,000 rally for Macedonia's PM after huge rival demo
Tens of thousands of pro-government demonstrators in Macedonia have taken part in a counter rally in the capital Skopje, a day after opposition protesters waged a huge protest demanding the resignation of the country’s prime minister over corruption allegations.
An estimated 30,000 supporters of embattled Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski took to the streets of Skopje on Monday in a show of force after a massive protest march by the center-left opposition forces on Sunday called on Gruevski to quit office, also accusing him of mass wiretapping and fomenting ethnic tensions to remain in power.
While Gruevski’s supporters were marching on Monday outside the nation’s parliament building, nearly 1,000 opposition protesters also established a protest camp near his offices in the capital amid deepening political crisis in the tiny Balkan state, AFP reported.
The troubled prime minister, however, remained defiant on Monday, reiterating in an address to his supporters that he had no intention to step down, despite admitting to “mistakes and omissions” that he vowed to fix.
"No surrender, no bowing down! ... Dark forces will not succeed," said the 44-year-old prime minister, accusing the opposition of being backed by foreign intelligence without pointing to any proofs.
"We are open for talks (with political parties), but we will not allow a solution which is against the free will of the majority of citizens," he added.
This is while opposition forces were digging in their heels after opposition leader Zoran Zaev called on them to remain on the streets in front of the prime minister’s government headquarters until he quits.
The rival rallies in the Balkan nation has brought to light the deep divisions that plague the tiny state, which has been dogged by a political turmoil since disputed elections in 2014, and has been left reeling following a bloody battle between police forces and ethnic Albanian gunmen, which left 18 dead earlier this month.
Meanwhile, the Sunday's march by the opposition brought many ethnic Albanians and Turks onto the streets as well as demonstrators from the majority Macedonian community.
Macedonia obtained European Union candidate status in 2005 but is yet to begin accession talks due to opposition from Greece, which denies its neighbor the right to use the name Macedonia, arguing that it implies a claim over the northern Greek region of the same name.
MFB/MHB/AS
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