2016 Macedonian protests information

2016 Macedonian protests
Colorful Revolution
2016 Macedonian protests; Colorful Revolution
Part of the Macedonian political crisis (2015-17)
Date	12 April 2016 – 20 July 2016
Location	Mostly in Skopje also in Bitola, Strumica, Kumanovo, Prilep, Kočani, Stip, Tetovo and other cities
Caused by	Halting of investigation against former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and other politicians by President Gjorge Ivanov; Wiretapping scandal involving Gruevski; Police brutality;
Goals	Force President Ivanov, Prime Minister Dimitriev and his cabinet to resign; Form an expert government or national unity government;
Methods	Protests and demonstrations, Internet activism, roadblock, strikes
Resulted in	Postponed early parliament elections planned for 5 June;; initiated proceedings in parliament for impeachment on Gjorge Ivanov by SDSM, NSDP, LDP, DUI, DOM and DS;; overturned abolition for dozens of politicians from VMRO-DPMNE by president Ivanov;; continuing investigations against former Prime Minister Gruevski and other politicians from VMRO-DPMNE;; New transitional (technical) government 4 months before elections; planned early parliament elections on 11 December 2016;
Parties
Government of Macedonia; (led by VMRO-DPMNE) VMRO-DPMNE; Macedonian Police; Citizens for Macedonian Defense;	United opposition and NGOs, including: Social Democratic Union of Macedonia; New Social Democratic Party; Liberal Party of Macedonia; Liberal Democratic Party; "Протестирам" (I protest); Levica; Party of European Socialists;
Lead figures
	Gjorge Ivanov ; (President of Republic of Macedonia) ; Nikola Gruevski ; (former Prime Minister and leader of VMRO-DPMNE); Emil Dimitriev ; (Interim Prime Minister) Zoran Zaev ; (President of SDSM and opposition leader); Radmila Šekerinska (Deputy leader of SDSM) ; Oliver Spasovski (Minister of Interior); Andrej Žernovski (Mayor of municipality of Centar) ; Stevo Pendarovski (former candidate for President of Macedonia); Tito Petkovski (Leader of NSDP) ; Zdravko Saveski 'And others...'

In April 2016, protests began in the Republic of Macedonia against the incumbent President Gjorge Ivanov and the government led by the interim Prime Minister Emil Dimitriev from the ruling VMRO-DPMNE party. Referred to by some as the Colorful Revolution^[2]^[3] (Macedonian: Шарена револуција), the protests started after the controversial decision by President Gjorge Ivanov to stop the investigation of former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and dozens of politicians who were allegedly involved in a wiretapping scandal.^[4]^[5] The demonstrations were organized by "Protestiram" (I protest) and supported by a coalition led by the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia and other opposition parties, in addition to the newly formed Levica (The Left)^[6]^[7] demanding that the government resign and be replaced by a transitional government and that the parliamentary elections planned for 5 June 2016 be cancelled, on the grounds that the conditions for free and transparent elections were not in place.^[8] The government and its supporters, who had organized pro-government rallies, maintained that the elections on June 5 were the only solution to the political crisis, with some observers blaming the opposition for creating a "Ukraine scenario" in Macedonia.^[9]^[10]

Initially taking place in Skopje, the capital, both anti- and pro-government protests also occurred in other cities in the country, including Bitola, Kicevo, Kočani, Veles, Strumica, Prilep, Kumanovo and Tetovo.^[3]^[11] Thousands of people took part in the demonstrations. The European Union and the United States criticized the government of Macedonia for the pardon of the politicians and stated that Macedonia's prospects of becoming a member of the EU and NATO were under threat because of it.^[12]^[13]^[14] In an official statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia labelled the Macedonian opposition as a tool of foreign powers being used to destabilize the political situation in the country.^[9]

^ Government of FYR Macedonia should respect fundamental democratic values in dealing with opposition Archived 2016-04-25 at the Wayback Machine. Party of European Socialists. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
^ Petrevska, Anastasija. Arrests Add Fuel to Anti-Impunity Protesters’ Fire in Macedonia. Global Voices Online. Published 27 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference libertas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Macedonia enters second week of anti-government protests. The Seattle Times. Published 18 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
^ Macedonia Protests Demanding President's Resignation Continue. Novinite. Published 16 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
^ "ПРЕЗИДИУМ". 23 February 2016. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
^ "БИТОЛСКАТА ЛЕВИЦА УДРИ СО ДЕСНИЦА". 24 May 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
^ Cite error: The named reference continue was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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[1] Government of FYR Macedonia should respect fundamental democratic values in dealing with opposition Archived 2016-04-25 at the Wayback Machine. Party of European Socialists. Retrieved 30 April 2016.

[global-2] Petrevska, Anastasija. Arrests Add Fuel to Anti-Impunity Protesters’ Fire in Macedonia. Global Voices Online. Published 27 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.

[libertas-3] Cite error: The named reference libertas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[4] Macedonia enters second week of anti-government protests. The Seattle Times. Published 18 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.

[novinite-5] Macedonia Protests Demanding President's Resignation Continue. Novinite. Published 16 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.

[6] "ПРЕЗИДИУМ". 23 February 2016. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2018.

[7] "БИТОЛСКАТА ЛЕВИЦА УДРИ СО ДЕСНИЦА". 24 May 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2018.

[continue-8] Cite error: The named reference continue was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[mid-9] Cite error: The named reference mid was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[serbia-10] Cite error: The named reference serbia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[gain-11] Cite error: The named reference gain was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[eu1-12] Cite error: The named reference eu1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[eu2-13] Cite error: The named reference eu2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[says-14] Cite error: The named reference says was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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