Thousands Join Macedonia Opposition in Protest March

Protesters paraded through the downtown and ended their march in front of the parliament building, where they held up red cards aimed at the government led by the centre-right VMRO DPMNE of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

The Social Democrats, who claim 50,000 people came to the rally, filed a formal initiative for the dissolution of the assembly to the parliament, which would lead to early elections.

“It is high time for these lies, manipulation and hypocrisy to end,” the head of the Social Democrats, Branko Crvenkovski, said in his speech in front of the parliament.
 
The party accuses the government of installing criminal and undemocratic rule and blames the country's leaders for empty promises of economic revival and for stalling Macedonia’s accession to NATO and the EU.

“Those who ruin Macedonia’s future must stop portraying themselves as patriots, those who rule with crime and fear must stop selling stories about morality and justice and calling themselves democrats,” Crvenkovski said.

The opposition announced its rally just days after the November 25 police drama in front of the building of Macedonia’s A1 TV, the most popular national broadcaster that leans toward the opposition, which accused the government of trying to shut it down.

Despite fears of violent incidents, Sunday's protest was carried out in a peaceful atmosphere.

The protestors mostly complained about the growing poverty in the country and the polarisation of the state.

“Everything has gone to hell. The unemployment is ever present and they [the government] lie to us that we are achieving progress,” one elderly protestor told Balkan Insight.

“The only way to get employment benefits in this state is to become a member of the ruling party. Enough is enough. They have taken Macedonia hostage,” said a student from the town of Tetovo who attended the rally.

The march was supported by several minor opposition parties who are part of a coalition led by the Social Democrats.

However, the main rightist opposition, United for Macedonia, did not participate and held a protest rally at the same time in the central Macedonian town of Veles.

VMRO DPMNE came to power in 2006 and strengthened its rule after early elections in 2008. The party now controls a solid majority in the parliament.

The Social Democrats said they hope to garner support from other parties, including the junior partner in the ruling coalition, the Democratic Union for Integration, for their initiative for early elections.

Various opinion polls show that VMRO DPMNE still leads the popularity rankings in the country and that it has almost double the support that the Social Democrats enjoy. However, some surveys show Social Democrats are slowly gaining on their adversaries.