EU, US Ambassadors Concerned with Macedonia Gov't

Macedonia's government is not doing enough to account for the opposition's allegations of wrongdoing, several Western ambassadors have warned.

In a joint statement published by the US Embassy in Skopje, the diplomats representing the US, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the EU are denouncing the attack in Kumanovo which claimed on Saturday the life of 8 police officers.

All the abovementioned envoys have extended their condolence to the people of Macedonia "for the tragic deaths of the brave police officers" who died as a result of the attack, the ambassadors have offered "to assist in any way that we can," also firmly condemning the episode of violence and welcoming President Gorge Ivanov's move to meet political parties' representatives on Sunday.

However, they are also critical of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's government over its response to opposition allegations which triggered street protests in the days before the tragic assault.

"This continued inaction casts serious doubt on the Government of Macedonia's commitment to the democratic principles and values of the Euro-Atlantic community. Continued failure to demonstrate this commitment with concrete action will undermine Macedonia's progress towards EU and NATO membership," the message reads.

The ambassadors also repeat they are expecting "appropriate political and legal measures" against "those responsible" with regard to the "clearly unacceptable behavior" revealed by the disclosures.

They are referring to the opposition SDSM party's accusations of government involvement in the death of a student, which sparked outrage from thousands of Macedonians, but also to earlier "evidence" (as SDSM leader Zoran Zaev describes it) of Gruevski's...