North Macedonia: Justice Postponed Again in Mass Murder Trial

But in the end, the party had to for with less, as in exchange for its continued participation in the Social Democrats-led government, it accepted a freshly-tailored seat of First Deputy Prime Minister tasked with overseeing the political system and inter-ethnic relations.

First Deputy Prime Minister Artan Grubi did not waste much time, proposing first a plan for subsidies for ethnically-based employment in the private sector, and then a draft that he insisted would finally solve the longstanding problem with some 1,400 minority employees in the public administration, who for years have received wages without working because they have not been assigned posts.

When it comes to solving the problem with the unassigned employees, which stem from a provision for equal representation contained in the 2001 Ohrid Peace Accord that ended a brief armed conflict between ethnic Albanian rebels and the security forces that year, the country has seen similar pledges before, and it remains to be seen whether they will come to fruition this time.

Police and investigators at the scene of the murders near Skopje in 2012. Photo: MIA.

Verdict in 'Monster' case delayed to 2021

After full eight years since the gruesome murders sparked ethnically-charged protests, and more than two years since the start of the defendants' retrial, North Macedonia expected to hear the verdicts this year in one the case dubbed 'Monster', in which six ethnic Albanians are charged with terrorism for murdering five ethnic Macedonians during Orthodox Easter in 2012.

But as the COVID-19 crisis hit hard in March, it caused the postponement of many ongoing trials, slowing down the pace of this one as well. The optimistic initial plans of the...