Albanian extremist violence in Macedonia “deeply worries” the EU
Albanian extremist violence during the elections in Macedonia has “deeply worried” the European Union.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Tuesday, June 03, 2008
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and EU Enlargement Commissionner Olli Rehn have strongly condemned the violence in which one person was killed and a dozen were wounded.
Voting was suspended at 22 polling stations in ethnic Albanian areas because of intimidation, violence or reports of fraud. Reruns will be held in those areas in two weeks.
Police spokesman Ivo Kotevski said Monday that voting violations were registered in a total of 30 polling stations, and that 28 people had been arrested.
The consequences could be long-term, said Biljana Vankovska, a political analyst and
professor at Skopje university's Institute for Defense and Peace Studies.
"The international standing of the country has been undermined seriously," she said.
