The issue of national identity is taken seriously by Balkan people – including the least serious among them.
Swine Flu Postpones Macedonia ID Deadline
Skopje | 07 December 2009 | Sinisa-Jakov Marusic
One of the main concerns when making this decision was the fear that the swine flu virus would spread more quickly in the large crowds that have gathered each day to renew their IDs at the Ministry of Interior premises, the authorities said.
Macedonia recently changed its passports and IDs in order to improve their security and thus comply with EU accession requirements.
But last month people started swarming the Ministry of Interior offices in fear of the fines that the police threatened they would issue to all caught without a new ID after New Year. Many people, unhappy by the state rushing them, have argued that the treatment they received, the long queues, and impatient staff, was inhumane.
The crowds grew further as hundreds of people decided to apply for new passports encouraged by this month’s EU visa liberalisation for Macedonian nationals.
The extension of the deadline, initially proposed by the State Ombudsman, was also intended to ease the work load of the overwhelmed police administration.
The measure will have to be approved by parliament in order to step in to force, but observers say this is now just a formality after the Ministry in charge gave its green light.
Macedonia recently claimed its sixth swine flu casualty. The hospitals are full with new patients as the number of those suspected to have the A/H1N1 virus rises to some 1,000.
