Zoran

Macedonia braced for fresh protests on April 14 after an anti-government demonstration turned violent, following the president's shock decision to halt probes into more than 50 public figures embroiled in a wire-tapping scandal.
 

The protests in Skopje against the recent decision of Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov to pardon all politicians suspected for their involvement in last year's wiretapping scandal entered their second day on Wednesday.

Thousands of people gathered in the centre of the Macedonian capital for a more violent protest which targeted the president's office.

Skopje police confirmed the arrest of twelve people on Wednesday, after a group of people stormed President Gjorge Ivanov's office in central Skopje demolishing its interior.

The reporter for Plusinfo news portal Goran Naumovski was injured during the scuffles.

Civil associations and opposition parties led by the Social Democratic Party, SDSM, announced protests for Wednesday and Thursday following the President's surprise decision to pardon all politicians under investigation.

"This decision represents a classic breach of the legal system of the country," SDSM leader Zoran Zaev said on Wednesday, calling on people to join mass protests.

A decision by Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov to halt all proceedings against politicians allegedly involved in last year's wiretapping scandal has drawn fire both home and abroad.

Preisdent Ivanov told a press conference on Tuesday that he had not consulted any political parties before deciding to pardon politicians facing crime probes - most of whom are from the ruling parties and are being investigated by the recently formed special prosecution.

A source inside Macedonia's State Electoral Commission, DIK told BIRN that the process of weeding out alleged fake voters from the electoral roll is being undermined by the pressure from the ruling parties.

Zoran Stojiljkovic, head of Serbia's Anti-Corruption Agency, told BIRN that there are no objective indications that corruption was decreasing in Serbia even though the ruling Progressive Party won a decisive election in 2012 on an anti-corruption manifesto.

Macedonia's main opposition party said it will boycott a "sham" election in June, as parliament dissolved ahead of the vote which is supposed to end a political crisis.
 
The June 5 election is part of a European Union-backed deal reached last year between the government and the opposition to end months of turmoil.
 

The Macedonian parliament was dissolved on Thursday, paving the way for the holding of the early parliamentary elections scheduled to take place on June 5.

However the holding of the elections on this date remains under question as Zoran Zaev, the leader of the largest opposition party, the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM), threatened to boycott the snap polls.