Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-04-28

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] INTERVIEW-SDSM's Šekerinska sees political plan behind Skopje's parliament raid

[02] ECB wants legal documents on Greek debt from Eurogroup to add country in QE, says bank source

[03] Mycenean-era tomb with grave goods discovered in Salamina

[04] Dialogue the only way forward for FYROM, FM Poposki says from Malta

[05] Thirty five volunteers, migrants in Lesvos squat charged with disturbing peace, damaging property

[01] INTERVIEW-SDSM's Šekerinska sees political plan behind Skopje's parliament raid

On Thursday, hundreds of protesters stormed the Parliament in Skopje and attacked MPs, among which, Šekerinska.

Speaking to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA), she said the only solution is to allow the institutions to do their job and elect a new government.

Q: Who is responsible for the clashes in the parliament on Thursday?

SEK: "There's no doubt the plan was political and that the implementation of the plan shows there is still a usurpation of state institutions. Yesterday, in front of the parliament, while the new president was being elected, there were 600 people. Six hundred people cannot storm the parliament. We had huge crowds in the past in front of the parliament. We had 50,000-70,000 people. There was never any idea of storming the parliament, but even if there were, police was there to prevent violence. Yesterday there were only a few police forces scattered around the parliament who essentially allowed protesters to invade.

We have very strong indications but also some evidence that the head of state security, who was the key person in the organization of security around parliament, is behind this plan. Why? Because if you compare the behavior of the police – let's say- three years ago, it used all precautionary measures. We heard the parliament's security complain that they were left, not just alone, but when they tried to contact the ministry of interior, nobody answered […] The man who has responsible for security is one of Gruevski's right-hand men. It's clear they're in this together; and not all VMRO MPs, but some of them knew about the plan."

Q: Why did you decide to abstain from the meeting of political leaders which was called on Friday by the president (Ivanov)?

SEK: "It was Ivanov's political decisions that led us to this. His attempt to give absolution to all corrupt politicians last year was the first step. The second step was what he has been doing in the last three months. He violates his clear constitutional duty. One of the clearest points of our Constitution is that the President is obliged to mandate the party or parties that have the majority in the parliament to form a government. His violation of the Constitution was what contributed to this violence. Yesterday he made a statement but didn't attempt to condemn the violence; the fact that more than ten lawmakers were injured […] The attack against the parliament or against elected lawmakers is an attack against democracy. And it is clear Gruevski's plan was to silence democracy. They thought that after that we would leave and stay silent. But that would be a victory of violence and of a corrupt regime."

Q: Is there a way out of this situation?

SEK: "There is. We must allow the institutions to do their job. The parliament must do its work. A new government will have to be elected. This may not solve the problems but at least we will have the tools to start dealing with the problems. Unfortunately, when you incite violence in this way, you create divisions inside the country.

It will be the responsibility of our own reformist government to try to soften these dividing lines. We were almost killed by a group of people who were beating us on behalf of Gruevski. But there were quite a few people among the crowd that protected us. And I see this as a ray of hope."

[02] ECB wants legal documents on Greek debt from Eurogroup to add country in QE, says bank source

The source said that if these commitments are given to the ECB, then Greece could participate in the program in July.

Commenting on the ongoing talks with the institutions, the bank source said no issues are expected to arise that could block the deal, adding that a good and effective secondary market is needed for the non-performing loans. He also estimated that bank deposits increased after the Eurogroup meeting in Malta adding that deposits this year will rise 1.9 pct to 2 pct.

Earlier, Bank of Greece Governor Yiannis Stournaras joined talks with the institutions' mission chiefs in Athens.

[03] Mycenean-era tomb with grave goods discovered in Salamina

Speaking to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA) on Friday, archaeologist Ada Kattoula of the Western Attica, Piraeus and Islands Antiquities Ephorate said it was the third tomb located in the area, following two discovered in 2009 during excavation to install the sewage pipes. Those finds had led to the discovery of 41 intact pottery vessels in very good condition, with inscribed decorations typical of the era, as well as pieces of roughly 10 more vessels, she said.

"The excavation conditions are extremely difficult because there are many springs in the area and the specific tombs, being carved into the rock, are prone to flooding. We needed pumps to empty the water. With great technical difficulty and significant assistance from the contractor we were able to investigate," Kattoula said.

The tomb is part of a Mycenean-era cemetery discovered many years earlier and investigated in archaeological digs held in 1964, 1992 and 2009. The chamber, carved from the natural rock in the area, is 2.6 metres by 2.9 metres across and 1.5 metres high at its tallest point. It is slightly smaller than the other two tombs in the cemetery, which measured 3x3 metres across.

The tomb contained the skeletal remains of at least five people, indicating it was a group grave typical of the time. Chamber tombs were dug into rock, as roughly square chambers accessed via "roads". With each new burial, the entrance was opened and the remains of the previous dead were moved aside to make room for the new body and its grave goods.

The tomb will remain buried while the skeletons will be studied and the vessels found within preserved. The find will greatly contribute to forming a complete picture of Salamina's Mycenean cemetery.

[04] Dialogue the only way forward for FYROM, FM Poposki says from Malta

"Secondly, and very importantly, we must all respect legal procedures since this is the only way to preserve peace and stability in the country," he said.

The only way forward in order to overcome the political crisis and the dangers this posed was dialogue, Poposki added, noting that FYROM was a very important country for the region's stability.

The FYROM minister was in Valletta to attend the EU foreign ministers' discussion on the EU global strategy on foreign and security policy, which is also attended by EU candidate countries.

Asked whether the events on Thursday had closed the door on FYROM's EU accession prospects, Poposki stressed that less European integration was not the right answer for his country. Peace in the region and greater stability for FYROM required greater EU integration and greater certainty that FYROM will join the EU, he said.

Regarding the next steps, the foreign minister said the first step must be for the institutions to establish peace and security in the country. "Immediately afterward we will begin dialogue in order to investigate the prospects for overcoming the current situation without violence and with respect for legality, our Constitution and our laws," he added.

Replying to a question on whether a new government will be formed, Poposki stressed that this must happen in accordance with the law and Parliamentary procedure. "Until yesterday, parliament followed the legal procedures. We do not need any more unilateral actions," he said.

When asked if his government accepted Thursday's election of the parliament speaker, Poposki said that this had not followed legal procedures and that the parliament was not in accordance with the country's legal framework.

"We do not believe that it offered greater stability but the contrary. There must be legality if we want to move forward and, regardless, what happened must be condemned as regards the use of force. On the other hand, dialogue is the only road open to us," he said.

Poposki ended by saying that stability must return using legal procedures "otherwise everyone will start taking decisions outside the institutions."

"I believe that we have very serious differences on many issues but all these matters must be discussed within legal frameworks," he concluded.

FYROM's interior minister reported that 102 people were treated in hospital after some 200 protestors supporting Nikola Gruevski's VMRO party stormed FYROM's parliament on Thursday and attacked MPs, objecting to the election of an ethnic Albanian parliament speaker and demanding new elections.

[05] Thirty five volunteers, migrants in Lesvos squat charged with disturbing peace, damaging property

The building, owned by a bank, was being used to house refugees and migrants of various nationalities. During the raid, police arrested 15 Iranians, four Afghanis, three Iraqis and one Pakistani, as well as 12 volunteers working for the solidarity group "No Border" – six Germans, two Americans, one Austrian, one Spaniard, one Briton and one Greek.

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