Macedonia Shootout Suspects Want Politicians to Testify

Lawyers for 37 defendants accused of participating in the shootout with police that left 18 people dead in the northern Macedonian town of Kumanovo want a retired police general who is now head of the small opposition Dignity party, Stojance Angelov, and the head of the junior party in the country's ruling coalition, Democratic Union for Integration chief Ali Ahmeti, to appear as witnesses.

But as the trial continued on Thursday, a source from the prosecution expressed doubt whether the Skopje Criminal Court would allow it.

"The law is clear. Additional witnesses cannot be proposed [after the trial starts], unless there was need for them to answer questions which emerged from the testimonies of some other witnesses," a prosecutor who is working on the case told BIRN on condition of anonymity.

Twenty-nine of the defendants are accused of being part of an ethnic Albanian terrorist group, and the eight others are charged with aiding them. They deny the charges.

The lawyers for the defendants said at the last trial session on Tuesday insisted that the politicians could shed new light on the case if they testified.

Former police general and Dignity party chief Stojance Angelovtold BIRN that he is probably being asked to testify because of a statement which he made just two weeks before the shootout in which he practically predicted the incident.

He then said that the government might stage an incident in order to provoke inter-ethnic conflict and thus divert attention from anti-government protests which were in full swing at the time.

Angelov said that he stands by his statement.

"I have information that two million euros were given to the Albanians, who have nothing to do with the NLA [the now-disbanded...