The International Crisis Group (ICG) in its latest report has put Macedonia in a group of countries where the situation is rapidly worsening. Macedonia is now in the company of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Gambia, Iraq, Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan), the Republic of Congo, and even Syria is included in the same group. All countries in this group on the list, are continually on the verge of some kind of conflict.
According to the ICG, the political crisis in Macedonia has worsened, causing massive domestic and international criticism prompting days of protests. The report points out key events in April, the announcement of the SDSM to boycott elections on June 5 because conditions for elections were not met; reforms to the media and the cleansing of the electoral roll. Then came President Ivanov’s decision to pardon all politicians facing criminal investigations in connection with the illegal wire tapping scandal, and by doing so, undermining the work of the Special Prosecutions Office (SPO). This was followed by days of protests, the death of a SPO witness, Kosta Krpač, who was found at his home shot in the chest on April 27. And by the end of April “Freedom House” published their annual report, where Macedonia was listed as a ” Not Free” status regarding the freedom of the country’s media.
The International Crisis Group’s latest table of trouble spots was announced yesterday via its official website.
The ICG is an influential independent, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization, committed to resolving deadly conflicts across the world, with teams on five continents.
The International Crisis Group has offices in Brussels, Washington, New York and Beijing, and has access and influence at the highest level in the Governments of the US, countries in the EU, the UN and NATO.
