Killings Heighten Ethnic Tensions in Macedonia

By MATTHEW BRUNWASSER

SOFIA, BULGARIA — On Orthodox Easter, one of the most sacred holidays for Christians here, Macedonians mourned the deaths of five Macedonian men amid speculation that their killers were ethnic Albanians, arousing fears of a new bout of intercommunal violence.

The men were fishermen, four were in their late teens or 20s and one was 40; they were found dead Thursday night on the shore of an artificial lake near the village of Smiljkovci outside the capital, Skopje. They were buried on Saturday. Continue reading “Killings Heighten Ethnic Tensions in Macedonia” →

Concerns Grow About Authoritarianism in Macedonia

By MATTHEW BRUNWASSER

SKOPJE, MACEDONIA — The ambitious retooling of this small nation’s identity — a Balkan brand of hyper-patriotism accompanied by the trumpeting of Macedonia’s ancient roots — is raising concerns internationally about growing authoritarianism, the silencing of dissent and accusations of abuse of power by the governing party here.

The European Commission released its annual report this week on the country’s progress toward E.U. membership, and found that the country was backtracking on protecting media freedoms and that it was making insufficient progress on protecting the rule of law. Continue reading “Concerns Grow About Authoritarianism in Macedonia” →

Macedonia Plays Up Past Glory

By MATTHEW BRUNWASSER

SKOPJE, Macedonia — In the view of many here, the neighbors have been bullying this little Balkan country for a long time.

Bulgarians see its people as Bulgarians with accents. Serbia used to consider the land Southern Serbia and refuses to recognize its church. Greece accuses the country of nothing less than stealing its name, history and national symbols.

This week, Macedonia pushed back.

In a precisely calibrated display of political and civil engineering, workers lifted a 14.5-meter, or 47-foot, bronze statue of Alexander the Great, weighing 30 tons, and placed it on a 15-meter-high pedestal in the central square of Skopje, the capital. Continue reading “Macedonia Plays Up Past Glory” →

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