Macedonia Press Review – October 18, 2012

DNEVNIK
The European Court of Human Rights is currently writing its ruling in the case of Khaled El-Masri, a German citizen of Lebanese origin allegedly captured in Macedonia as part of the CIA rendition programme, says the daily citing “well informed” sources who add that the ruling should be known by the year end. Although no one reveals details, sources say that it will be a historic ruling, a precedent that will for the first time since the terrorist bombing of September 11 determine how European states should behave concerning murky CIA rendition cases.

UTRINSKI VESNIK
Agim Ibrahimi and Ferhan Hasani, two ethnic Albanians, members of the Macedonian national football team, overnight became heroes of the entire nation, after on Tuesday their good play in Skopje resulted in 1:0 victory over Serbia. The daily analyzes whether these two could help bridge the ethnic gap between Macedonians and Albanians in the country, which is often evident at and around football matches. “I will celebrate Eid [muslim holliday] from now on”, “They deserve a monument” and “Long live brotherhood and unity” are some of the posts that ethnic Macedonian fans leave on internet. This is in contrast to what happened immediately after the match, when the police had to use tear gas to disperse opposing groups of Albanians, Macedonians and Serbians who wanted to engage in a massive fight.

Balkan Insight has not verified the reports and cannot vouch for their accuracy.