Skopje Cross Conflict 2016

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The 2016 Skopje Cross Conflict was an event that began on March 3, 2016 in the north Macedonian capital, Skopje , when new and severe national tensions arose between Albanian and Slavic Macedonians . These were triggered by the destruction of the foundations for a planned 55 meter high Orthodox cross by hundreds of Albanians. It was supposed to be a response to an oversized Albanian double-headed eagle that had been erected by Albanian Macedonians in a neighboring district. The foundation stone was laid on February 27th. Even then, there were demonstrations by ethnic Albanians who viewed the erection of a cross as a provocation. After the foundations were destroyed, Albanian flags were placed on and around the site and tents were erected. On the evening of March 4th, hundreds of Slavic Macedonians tried to drive the Albanians away. Stones were thrown at the strong police force that kept the two groups apart. Some police officers were injured.

Members of the VMRO-DPMN and the DUI , who actually formed the then government of the country, were significantly involved in the conflict . The conflict occurred in the run-up to the parliamentary elections on April 24, 2016.

There are already two monumental crosses in Skopje, including the 66-meter-high Skopje Millennium Cross, which was built in 2000 on the top of Mount Vodno.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b DPA: Severe national tensions in Macedonia. In: Lübecker Nachrichten . March 3, 2016, accessed March 7, 2016 .
  2. ↑ The double-headed eagle was the coat of arms of the Christian-Orthodox-Muslim-Catholic national hero Skanderbeg , who fought against the Ottomans at the beginning of the 15th century .
  3. ↑ The double-headed eagle is, however, several orders of magnitude smaller, with a base about five meters high, see picture (www.instagram.com, accessed on March 5, 2016)
  4. ↑ a b Sinisa Jakov Marusic: New Cross Sparks Ethnic Protests in Macedonia. In: BalkanInsight. March 4, 2016, accessed March 7, 2016 .
  5. ↑ a b Utrinski Vesnik : ДУИ на протест во Бутел против изградбата на крстот (Macedonian) ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.utrinski.mk
  6. ↑ a b ORF : Again nationalist riots in Skopje
  7. ↑ Skopje: Albanians protest to prevent installation of cross (www.b92.net, accessed March 5, 2016)
  8. ↑ End of the crisis in sight: Macedonia prefers parliamentary elections (article on www.spiegel.de from July 15, 2015)