OSCE Ambassador in Skopje: Macedonia Safe, Stable

Ambassador Ralf Breth of Germany took up his post as Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje on 16 May 2011. Photo by OSCE

The situation in Macedonia over the recent five murders near Skopje that caused ethnic tensions is not dangerous, according to OSCE Ambassador Ralf Breth.

"Macedonia is a stable and safe country. There is some tension but I wouldn't say that the situation in the republic is dangerous," Breth declared Sunday on Radio Free Europe as cited by BGNES.

The finding of the five bodies of Macedonian fishermen near a Skopje lake on April 12, 2012, led local media to circulate reports that they had been killed by ethnic Albanians, causing anti-Albanian rallies in Skopje.

"Protests are part of the democratic rights of the people but not when they are provocative, as was the case with the rallies in Skopje over the past week," Breth is quoted as saying.

"These protests prevent the police and the investigators from doing their job. This could lead to an unnecessary increase of tensions. And for this reason my colleagues from NATO, the EU, the USA, and I sent a joint message to the citizens to demonstrate tolerance, and not to succumb to speculations and provocations," added the head of the Skopje mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, referring to the joint statement that he made with the other ambassadors earlier in the week.

"I feel save here, and this has always been the case. The very fact that such a cruel act is a rarity, proves that the general situation in the country is safe, and that this state is a good place to live," he underscored.

According to the OSCE Ambassador in Skopje, the best way to calm down the situation in Macedonia would be for the police to find the perpetrators as soon as possible, and to transfer them to the law enforcement authorities.

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