Global Voices » Macedonian

Macedonia: Pondering Future Consequences of ACTA

Filip Stojanovski — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:19:31 +0000

While the authorities in Macedonia remain silent on the country's stance on the ACTA, bloggers, such as Airborne, emphasize the need to gain more knowledge [mk], as the traditional media mostly ignore the issue: “Maybe, one of these days, we'll just simply wake up in the ACTA-ruled world.” The new media attempting to fill this gap in local languages include Metamorphosis and IT.com.mk. Endek blog advocates [mk] standing up for Internet freedom by joining international protest movements.

Macedonia: Problems With Transparent Online Reporting of Air Pollution in Skopje

Filip Stojanovski — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:51:19 +0000

According to the blog of GreenBox NGO, Skopje's city government is not interested in providing funds for the online system that informs citizens about the current levels of air pollution.

The automatic system for measuring pollution, located in the center of Skopje, caused quite a stir when it reported alarming levels of air pollution last year.

Some observers related the presence of the cancerous PM10 dust particles to the government-funded construction boom in the Center municipality, which had been turned into a giant construction site through the Skopje 2014 project. The surrounding area is also an epicenter of the activities of the so-called “urban mafia” that uses connections within the local government to change zoning laws and convert public parks, parking lots and small houses to huge and profitable apartment blocks, office spaces and shops.

The “Skopje Breathing” online system [mk], owned by the City of Skopje, stopped functioning at the beginning of January 2012 (1, 2; mk), after several media outlets (1, 2, 3, 4; mk) reported that the air quality was still poor. The webpage displayed this text: “Software upgrade is under way. The application will soon be available.”

Screen shot of Skopje Breething monitoring system, which is 'in construction' since early January 2012.

GreenBox blog posted [mk] the following:

Would you like to know about the quality of the air in the center of Skopje? Then you need to put on your snow shoes, parka, hat, scarf and gloves and trek to Macedonia Street to check the information by looking at the display near the Šmizla [equivalent of the Valley Girl or Barbie-girl stereotype] statue. The website “Skopje Breathing,” which published a live data feed until Christmas [old calendar = Jan 7], is still not working, and most likely will not work in the future.

Air pollution measuring station (right), Šmizla statue (left). Photo by GreenBox blog, republished with permission.

The environmental lab of the company Farmahem, which maintained the system for a year, confirmed that the issue at stake is more than a software upgrade. Their contract has expired, and the City of Skopje has not initiated a renewal. Farmahem allegedly wanted to upgrade the system with a public archive with the measured data, but now the citizens need to turn to the city government, which decides the destiny of this online transparency tool.

The City of Skopje representatives seem totally uninterested in ensuring that the publication of the air quality data online continues. The [City of Skopje's] spokesperson Nedelčo Krstevski says that the website appeared thanks to the initiative and goodwill of the company.

“The website was not ours. At the moment we cannot say whether it depends on us or on Farmahem. For us the important thing is that the measuring stations work and that the citizens can get air quality info from displays on the devices,” Krstevski said.

The City representatives admit that for the “Skopje Breathing” to continue working they would need to start a public procurement procedure, which, according to them, was very complicated and included a public tender. They do not know if that is going to happen.

“I cannot tell you anything now, neither that the site will exist, nor that it won't exist,” said Krstevski.

Through “Skopje Breathing” the citizens learned that the air pollution in the capital was up to 10 times higher than the maximum allowed by law. This resulted in recommendations not to go out at all. After the public pressure forced the city government and the Ministry of Environment to send inspections to the nearby industrial plants, the levels of pollution temporarily dropped. According to the research [mk] by the Institute for Public Health, Skopje could avoid 117 deaths and 420 cases of serious illnesses per year if the concentration of dust dropped by a third of the current levels.

Macedonia: Policeman Who Beat Young Man to Death Gets 14 Years

Filip Stojanovski — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:03:21 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Macedonia Protests 2011.

The trial of the policeman suspected of beating a young man to death while on duty as the Prime Minister's bodyguard during the celebration of election victory on the night between June 5 and 6, 2011, ended on Monday, January 16. The police officer, Igor Spasov, member of the special forces and the only person on trial for the murder of Martin Neshkoski, received a sentence of 14 years in prison.

The attempt to cover up the murder sparked a protest movement against police brutality, through which citizens of Macedonia demanded justice, including apprehension of all accomplices, command responsibility, and political responsibility. The public prosecutor denied [mk] the victim's family's formal request to press criminal charges against the known and unknown accomplices, such as the policemen who were nearby during the murder and contaminated the crime scene afterwards, as well as those who were involved in the cover-up attempt.

The trial had a dozen sessions that were not extensively covered and analyzed by most of Macedonia's media, which rely on revenue from advertisements paid from the state budget. A notable exception is the portal PlusInfo.mk, which published a retrospective of the case [mk] the day before the sentence was announced.

Justice for Martin blog published a summary [mk] of the first ten sessions of the trial, written by activist Voislav Stojanovski's and first published [mk] by Radio Free Europe:

Igor Spasov's Account

On June 5, 2011, while coming to Skopje from Kumanovo (where he had worked on providing security for the electoral process for 15 hours), Spasov's superior officer gave him an oral command via telephone to continue guarding the Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski [photo 1, photo 2]. Before the incident on the square, he had noticed Martin trying to approach the PM twice […]. These attempts were prevented by the PM's security detail. The third attempt happened near the election celebration stage. Even though the uniformed policemen had warned him, Martin kept trying to approach the stage. Spasov reacted shouting at him, “Where do you think you're going?” - Martin started running away, and Spasov ran after him. Persistent attempts to breach the security cordon were suspicious, and his task was to arrest [Martin] and take him to the police station. When Spasov got near him, Martin tripped on a wire, hit his head on the pavement, and remained on the ground. Thinking he was simulating, Spasov kicked him a bit with his foot. The policeman saw that the young man was unconscious and tried to resuscitate him. Soon, uniformed policemen arrived at the scene and called an ambulance. Spasov told his colleagues that he needed to return to the [VIP] stage, and they let him go, without requesting him to identify himself. […] Later, during the trial, Spasov revealed that after the incident he filed an official report, which was destroyed by his superiors.

Eyewitnesses' Accounts

Most of the eyewitnesses could not confirm that the attacker they had seen was Spasov. Unlike at the time of the incident, in court he appeared much slimmer, with grown hair and beard [photo]. Very few witnesses confirmed his account; most provided quite a different version of the events.

According to them, upon reaching Martin, Spasov hit him in the back with his fist. Martin fell but managed to support himself with one hand. Trying to rise, he shouted “Don't beat me,” but Spasov right away dealt him several lightning strikes in the head with both hands, and then he hit Martin's body with his feet. Some eyewitnesses described the assault's brutality visually, through gesticulations. One of them said that he had seen such bloody beating only in the movies, while another said he could not sleep at night after that. Witnesses who tried to approach Martin were prevented by another corpulent man who identified himself as a plainclothes policeman. Some of them were told, “get lost or you'll get some yourself.”

Accounts of other police officers

The first uniformed policemen arriving at the crime scene confirmed they had spoken to Martin at the stage. After the rush, they were called by people from the crowd, and when they arrived there, Spasov told them Martin got sick. One of the policemen said he did not ID anyone, nor did he ask the people gathered around what happened. According to him, this might have been a mistake. They didn't ID Spasov because he looked like a person from the security detail. They did not notice traces of violence on Martin. Next on the scene arrived a female medical doctor and a nurse, who confirmed the death, but did not notice traces of violence. The CSI squad members who arrived next noticed injuries and defensive wounds on Martin's face and body. They informed the Ministry of the Interior's Operative Center of eyewitness accounts about the chase and physical assault.

Some ten policemen from Spasov's unit who were at the square that night also appeared in Court. Spasov claimed that–like him–they were also on duty at that time. All of them, without exception, denied this and stated that they were on the square as regular citizens, and that their work engagement ended before midnight. Even though these witnesses had the most contradictory statements… they supported the official position of the Ministry of the Interior that they and Spasov work for the day had ended at 23:30, i.e. before the election victory celebration started. During the last session, the Court stated that to qualify the act as “murder” the fact whether Spasov was on duty or not was irrelevant. This ended his efforts to prove that he was at his workplace at the time [Remark: this is related to the issue of command responsibility.]

Experts' testimonies

During [the tenth] session, the reasons for Martin's death were examined. A neuro-psychiatrist and a psychologist stated that Spasov was an extrovert, an ambitious and persistent person, insecure in the area of emotional control. During the event he was mentally capable, and was provoked by Martin's attempt to escape as a challenge to his power. Forensic experts described the over 20 external and internal injuries caused by direct or indirect punches. Cause of death was bleeding in the brain, caused by direct application of blunt, dynamic, fast and short-term force, which excluded the possibility that he died because he hit his head on the pavement.

Prof. Mirjana Najchevska documented [mk] many procedural mishaps during the first session of the trial, related to violating articles 309, 314, 320, 327, 333, and 335 of the Criminal Code by the female judge who acted very friendly to the audience:

failing to provide an appropriate courtroom to enable adequate access by the audience, including the victim's family;
the judges were not introduced, and the sequence of trial elements proscribed by the law was not followed;
the official accusation was not read publicly - instead, the accused was invited to give his account;
there was no official recording of the trial in audio or through shorthand minutes;
the judge in effect warned the accused not to reveal classified information related to his work engagement by telling him this could constitute another criminal offense, even though Article 20 of the Law on Classified Data states that classified information “is no longer considered classified if it covers up a criminal act, overstepping or abuse of function, or other illegal act or deed.”

Before the trial ended, the movement against police brutality organized several public debates. During one of them, an important issue “neglected” by the court was raised. Activist Tamara Atanasoska recounted [mk] on her blog:

[A lady from the audience who presented herself as a professor who teaches criminal evidence subjects to postgraduates] asked where the recordings from the video cameras at the square were? Alongside numerous state-owned surveillance cameras, there are also cameras from private companies like T-Mobile, which can be obtained without problem with a Court Order […]. She also stated that in Great Britain surveillance recordings are “top evidence.”

Deputy Ombudsman was asked if the recordings could be requested, and he responded that it was outside of their competence. As previously the Ombudsman representative commended his institution for doing everything they could, the lady asked if they requested the recordings during the investigation?

The response, as expected, was - no.

Spasov appeared clean-shaven, bald and muscular again while giving his closing statement (photo). He claimed [mk] he did not strike the death blow to Martin's head and pointed at involvement of other policemen: “I believed that the fall caused the boy's death, but if you carefully observe the postmortem photo, you can see that the surface of the bruise near Martin's nose is too big for a fist blow, while the Court did not even examine the option of the previous hit through headbanging…”

Spasov said [mk] that he had his reasons for not telling the whole truth and directly addressed the family. If he knew the youth was wounded, he would have brought him to hospital. He said “God is his witness” and alluded that he was being used as a scapegoat: “…if you look for an accused - here I stand, but if you want the truth, don't look at me!”

After the Court announced the sentence, the movement against police brutality organized a street protest in Skopje [mk], demanding full responsibility for all those involved in the crime.

Protest after the passing of the sentence in Skopje. Banner says "Life > Political Party". Photo by Plusinfo.mk, used with permission

On January 19, the movement “Citizens for European Macedonia” held a public debate on the topic of “Accomplices in the Crime” [mk, full video available within the article]:

According to human rights expert Mirjana Najchevska, the accomplices are all persons who influenced the course of events during and immediately after the murder. These include the public prosecutor and the investigative judge who failed to visit the crime scene on time, and did not secure the area; the policemen who did not detain Igor Spasov, but helped him move the body; and other state organs, involving those persons who tried to cover up Neshkoski's murder. For Najchevska, the act of killing, the investigation, and the court process represent an act of state torture. An indicative fact is that the Court did not declassify the official secret status of police data, even though it could have done it without asking the Ministry of Interior for permission.

Martin's brother Aleksandar Neshkoski stated that the police officers brought in as witnesses provided inconsistent/illogical statements, and the judge interrupted and ended the testimonies of all who wanted to provide more details, without asking further questions. Aleksandar expressed disappointment with the investigation and the trial. As an example of involvement of the highest state organs, he noted the fact that Martin had his ID in his pocket, but the Ministry of the Interior hid his identity for two days after the murder. The victim's brother said that the family dis not think Spasov's sentence was satisfactory and announced seeking responsibility of all the accomplices - if necessary, through the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

During the Q & A part, Aleksandar pointed out that he was receiving direct threats on a daily basis, but that he was not scared and would continue to seek justice.

Zharko Trajanoski, Mirjana Najchevska and Aleksandar Neshkoski at the public debate in the GEM Club in Skopje, Jan 19, 2012. Photo: Vancho Dzambaski, CC BY-NC-SA.

This post is part of our special coverage Macedonia Protests 2011.

Macedonia: Hoax About Facebook and Google SOPA Blackout

Filip Stojanovski — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 01:17:48 +0000

Macedonian blogs and independent sites IT.com.mk, Fail.mk, and Radio MOF [all mk] attempt to debunk the misinformation copy-pasted by a number of local commercial media (employing professional journalists) that Facebook, Google, Yahoo and other sites will join SOPA blackout, probably based on incompetent translation of a CBS article stating the opposite. The hoax caused mild panic and a huge number of link shares among Macedonian Facebook users.

Macedonia: Crowdmapping Projects Overview

Filip Stojanovski — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:14:10 +0000

Boris Ristovski provided an overview of crowdmapping projects in Macedonia [mk] and asked [mk] local netizens to respond to his online survey [mk], part of his master's thesis research.

Macedonia: Nokaut Concert in Blogosphere

Filip Stojanovski — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:11:03 +0000

Vasil Buraliev blogged [mk] about the much-praised concert of the Macedonian rock band Nokaut (Knockout), sharing the good impression of the media reviews about the band (linked to through the post), but also adding candid details about some of their guests on stage.

Macedonia: Pioneering Battery Disposal Initiative

Filip Stojanovski — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 23:30:13 +0000

Greener, a Macedonian NGO, blogged [mk] about their pilot-project Go Clean [FB page, mk], which aims to grow into a national campaign for proper disposal of used batteries and accumulators.

Macedonia: Twitter Hashtag for Prime Minister - #Ж

Filip Stojanovski — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 01:49:59 +0000

The Macedonian Twitter community is using the hashtag #Ж (uppercase of the Cyrillic letter romanized as Zh or Ž) as the shortcut symbol referring to the Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

The influential Twitter user Necovski explained [mk] how this came about on his blog Aerodromski son (Aerodrom Dream). It all started with the opening of the PM's official Twitter profile. A news item [mk] about it in the Nova Makedonija daily contained an error, stating that the account would be Жгруевскиникола (Zhgruevskinikola), “which stuck as a plank in the eye” of the Twitterers (idiom based on a Bible verse from Matthew 7:3):

It is common knowledge among Twitter users, but we will explain that here too, that the nickname cannot be in Cyrillic - it must be in Latin and the character @ goes in front of it. Now anyone who has written at least two documents in their lives knows that experienced users use Macedonian, or English or American or whatever [Multilanguage Support], while only the beginners use obsolete customized fonts. Apparently the reporter, or the Journalist, wrote the article with combination of old fonts. The technical person in the newsroom used [some automatic tool to convert the whole text into appropriate Cyrillic version, which also converted the parts which should have remained in Latin] resulting in Жгруевскиникола, causing an uproar. The daily subsequently corrected the article's online version into the appropriate @GruevskiNikola, which counts as yet another victory of the critical eye of the Twitter community.

The Twitterers, as usual, adopted the hashtag #Ж as a trophy of this victory. (You create a hashtag by putting the prefix # to a certain word, making it easier to discuss and search about that topic within Twitter.) Therefore, almost all tweets related to the work of the Government or personally about some statement by the PM fall under the #Ж hashtag…

For instance, VidanaDesign and Stariot used the hashtag to discuss [mk] the scandal when a photoreporter of the Fokus daily revealed that the Members of Parliament from the ruling party received handwritten notes by the PM with instructions on what to ask him during an official Q&A session on the Cabinet's accountability (pictured note to Ilija Dimovski, MP).

A screenshot of a part of a conversation on whether a typo from PM's note will join the "hashtag alphabet"

The content of the PM's official Twitter profile mostly consists of announcements in Macedonian, written in third person (e.g., “Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski will make a speech at the meeting organized by Konrad Adenauer Foundation,” and first-person posts in English automatically generated through his Facebook profile (”I posted 13 photos on Facebook in the album…”). The obvious lack of personal touch and lack of care for the format of the medium, as the tweets are just truncated article titles, has not contributed to the regard for this profile. In addition, “the PM” - or, to be more precise, the persons administering his profile - have never used “his” hashtag.

Examples of two basic kinds of tweets by the Macedonian PM.

Vlatko Vasilj, who has 1,086 followers, as opposed to the PM's 733, wrote [mk]:

This Twitter thing will make sense as long as I have more followers than #Zh!! :)

Another invocation of the hashtag involved the recent action of using plastic bottles to make a Christmas tree. ArsovaM commented [mk]:

If our fir tree gets good ratings, #Zh could say the project was part of the [Skopje 2014 plan]

Necovski wrote an explanatory post [mk] quoted above in response to numerous inquires by novice or uninformed social media users about the meaning of #Ж, which also encroached on Facebook thanks to apps that automatically post tweets as statuses. He illustrated it with a collage by Sead93 and Banekoma [mk], featuring a parody of the famous quote of President Ivanov, who - when asked by journalists to define what he means by saying he advocates “reasonable compromise” in the name dispute with Greece - furiously retorted [mk] with the haphazard tautology: “Reasonable compromise is a reasonable compromise! I cannot explain that to you now!”

"What is #Zh? - #Zh is #Zh!"
Collage about Prime Minister's hashtag, featuring President Ivanov.

Macedonia: Health System Software Vendor Lock-in

Filip Stojanovski — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 01:22:55 +0000

Novica Nakov warned [mk] that the state discriminates against users of operating systems like GNU/Linux or Mac OS X, purporting vendor lock-in by forcing medical doctors to use the latest version of Windows as the only platform for the obligatory e-health card software [mk] by the Fund for Health Insurance of Macedonia.

Macedonia, Greece, Turkey: Bridging the Divides Through Multilingual Reporting

Filip Stojanovski — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 01:21:51 +0000

Two recent initiatives by civic-minded journalists added value to the e-content in local languages from Macedonia and nearby countries: Diversity Media is offering news analysis through text and audio podcasts in Macedonian and Albanian, and Balkon3.com is enabling “peeking over the neighbors' fence” in Macedonian, Turkish, Greek, and English. The former also started a competition for news bloggers [mk, sq], ending Jan. 31.

Macedonia: Christmas Tree Made of Plastic Bottles

Filip Stojanovski — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 21:44:43 +0000

Inspired by the example of Kaunas, Lithuania, Macedonian Twitter users made a Christmas tree from plastic bottles at the Skopje City Park on Dec. 25, to raise awareness of everyone's responsibility for the environment. The action's organizers used their blogs [mk, mk, mk, mk] as a starting point for the quick social media campaign #елкамк (elka = a fir tree). The tree has remained in place during the night, and if the poor people who gather plastic from the streets and garbage dumpsters for recycling don't harvest it, the authors plan [mk] to properly dispose of it after the New Year's.

Macedonia, Poland: Remembering Solidarność

Filip Stojanovski — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 03:25:45 +0000

Macedonian blogger Zoriv reminisced about the fall of socialism by publishing original photos [mk] he made during the 1981 protests in Warsaw, Poland, organized by Solidarity Trade Union.

Macedonia, Nepal: First Female Macedonian on Major Himalayan Peak

Filip Stojanovski — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 03:25:11 +0000

Macedonian climbers Ilina Arsova and Ilija Ristovski have successfully climbed the Himalayan summit of Ama Dablam, on Nov. 18, 2011. Ilina wrote about this achievement on her blog, in Macedonian and English.

Macedonia: Is Skopje Really the Most Polluted City in the World?

Filip Stojanovski — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 01:23:10 +0000

Unlike the authorities, social media users are reacting to empirical information about high levels of pollution in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia.

As part of the reforms for joining the European UNion (EU), Macedonia is required to start measuring and improving its environmental indicators. The EU progress report for 2011 [pdf] stated diplomatically by basically repeating the 2010 report [pdf] (indicating stagnation or reversal instead of real progress):

Some progress can be reported in the area of air quality. Transposition of the acquis continued with adoption of some implementing legislation. Three more Protocols to the CLRTAP were ratified. Some progress was made in developing the system of air quality monitoring. The administrative capacity remains insufficient at central and local levels. Preparations in this field are moderately advanced.

For a decade, key environment stats have been missing from the EU progress reports, since they were not supplied by the Macedonian government. (Click to enlarge the screenshot)

During the last two and a half weeks, an air quality measuring station called “Skopje Breathing”, which was installed in the busy city center to publish its data online in real time, has provided a new dimension for citizens and some journalists from Skopje.

The portal PlusInfo.mk started covering this issue in detail, and is also providing real-time numbers for the amount of sharing via social media. The article [mk] from Friday, December 3, compared the “shocking” level of pollution with the WHO air pollution database:

According to the World Health Organization data [from September], the most polluted city in the world is Ahvaz in Iran with 372 micrograms of PM10 dust per cubic meter. At this time the City of Skopje website “Skopje Breething” says that the prevalence of this type of dust is 433 micrograms per cubic meter.

The WHO limit for PM10 is 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air.

This article received over 1,432 Facebook shares and at least 19 tweets, leading to over 22,185 readings by the time of closing of this post. Other articles on this topic also received significant social media attention, especially the one on the temporary unannounced shut-down of the measuring and reporting system for six hours the day after. Other media [mk] also continue to follow the measurements, which on December 4 were 488.99 micrograms per cubic meter. The governmental bodies in charge of environmental protection either kept silent or offered the usual excuses - not within their competence, will investigate, etc.

While comparing the current (daily) measures with the WHO annual averages is questionable from the viewpoint of methodology, no official expert has provided retractions or scientific explanation about the comparison and the actual pollution. The annual mean PM10 for Skopje is 80 micrograms per cubic meter, according to the WHO database. The current metrics show a somewhat lower level than the “world record,” which nevertheless remains dangerously high.

A screenshot of 'Skopje breathing' for Monday, Dec 5. The air quality is designated as very unhealthy.

Tumblr user Stamatovski responded by creating a new postcard for Skopje [mk], which also received quite a few reposts and re-tweets.

'Greetings from Skopje' - postcard design by Kosta Stamatovski. Reprinted with permission by the author.

Stamatovski wrote [mk]:

Alright everybody, after “the postcard” incited so much interest - which I did not expect - let me remind you that we are all responsible for what it represents!

Also, this is nothing new, nor is it going to change in a couple of days! Let us all stop driving in our cars alone, let's not use our cars to go even to our kitchen, let us not insist on parking 3 millimeters from our destinations, and generally let's all become more aware of the environment.

And let us all wish for some snow ASAP. :)

On the other hand, Dejan Spaseski criticized [mk] the excessive reactions to the news about the pollution via his Personal Development blog:

For a long time, everybody has known about air quality in Skopje. The only difference is that now we have a higher awareness. We also have a way to click and receive the current information immediately. This has made a huge difference.

[…]

My personal philosophy is that you have to do everything step by step, according to the interest effect principle… Everything needs time, it is enough to start doing something to change the current situation. This is a great start for me and we are moving in the right direction.

Some of the [social media] reactions made me laugh… Most of the initial comments were accusations that this is a result of the constant building and rebuilding in Skopje, new high-rises, cutting of the [Vodno] forest, building of Porta Vlae and Kapishtec apartment blocks, to the point that we don't need Skopje 2014. Most of the people complained that the Central Government or the Skopje Mayor haven't done a thing about this in years.

Some people claimed that they wouldn't get outside until the fog lifts, until the air quality returns to the limits of world standards - like in the big metropolises. If they sit at home, would they breathe cleaner air, or just feel better? Others said they wouldn't go out until Skopje is no longer the first in pollution. I cannot fathom why they feel relieved if there's another, more polluted city? Maybe the feeling that they are not victim number 1 but victim number 2 worldwide?

[…]

People rebel about pollution, but they all like to come and live in Skopje. I am very revolted by those who constantly keep saying they can hardly wait for Friday so they could leave towards their birthplace, or have a weekend in [Ohrid] or [Krushevo]. To get away from the stench. So why are they [coming back on Monday]?

It is not loyal to spit on the city we live in. The city that has offered us existence. In return, think about how you can help improve it. Now that you know about air pollution, ride a bus instead of driving your car. It would be cheaper and less damaging to the environment…

It is naturally easier to spit and blame. It makes things easier. Instead, try to act and think differently…

[…]

To bring the city into such a state, it took several decades. It would take as much time to repair the situation.

While the apologetic attitude towards the responsible authorities received counter-criticism [mk] on Ping.mk, Twitter user Gjorgji Taskovski responded to a far more concrete aspect of the text:

Why do the people who want to “get away” from Skopje over the weekend revolt you? I'll use a personal example: I have two kids, born 2005 (male) and 2006 (female). They prosper, except that the boy has runny nose all the time. Every season we made allergy tests with no results. The responsible physician, who is also a friend, advised us to move to the Radishani [a suburb on the slopes of a nearby mountain]. And now you say I should be ashamed to run away from Skopje over the weekend (even though I was born here). [For the sake of my children] I will run, what do I care! My wife is from [Kriva Palanka] and her parents returned to the village of their birth a year ago… When the kids are there, the change is amazing: no running nose, they eat [like wolves]…

I agree that pollution [in Skopje] has been high for years. Solution: the same as [Ljubljana]. Restrictions on moving into the city from other towns, relocation of jobs by relocating factories, possibilities for studies outside of Skopje and, above all, a developed rail network. Anyone who has lived in Germany or England or anywhere else in Europe would grasp the importance of this [Macedonian railways are infamous for their inefficiency and low mileage]. Removal of older trucks from Skopje is another super option - they are used in construction business, but that's not my problem. And above all, we have to admit that we live in a city with catastrophic urban planning, which spreads only longitudinally [along the Vardar river], and that building of new sports terrains, Vero supermarkets, cinemas etc. are not the only precondition for high quality of life. […] I say “Big deal!” to organizing swarm festivals, the great night life, or the [awesome Zoo]. Try to raise kids in this city, you'll change the way you think.

Macedonia, Greece: Reaction to International Court of Justice Decision

Filip Stojanovski — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:24:02 +0000

Blogger Effo was the first to comment on the verdict [pdf], in which the Hague International Court of Justice found that the Greek obstruction of Macedonia's NATO entry in 2008 was in violation of the 1995 Interim Accord. He demands [mk] that Macedonia stop the negotiations about the name issue altogether, because he expects Greece to continue along the same “illogical” lines.