Macedonian War Crimes Convict Enters Parliament

Former policeman Johan Tarculovski has entered parliament after being elected as MP in the country's second electoral unit that covers parts of Macedonia's north-east but also parts of capital Skopje.

"He is our Macedonian hero and we are pound to have him among our ranks. Who best to work for Macedonian interests than Tarculovsk?" a high-ranking source from the VMRO DPMNE told BIRN on condition of anonymity.

Tarculovski served eight years of his 12-year jail term before he was granted early release in 2013.

The Hague Tribunal convicted him of leading a police unit that killed ethnic Albanian civilians and committed other atrocities in the Albanian-populated village of Ljuboten near Skopje.

The crime took place during the brief armed conflict in 2001 between Macedonian security forces and a now-disbanded Albanian insurgent force whose leaders now lead the Democratic Union for Integration party which in the past eight years was a junior government partner to VMRO DPMNE.

After his election as an MP in the 120-seat parliament, Tarculovski did not make any public statement.

However, he was among the many prominent VMRO DPMNE officials who joined ruling party supporters in tense three-day protests in front of the State Electoral Commission HQ in Skopje, aimed at putting pressure on its work as it was deliberating the opposition's complaints about the conduct of the polls - which, if accepted, could have potentially evened out the number of MPs between the VMRO DPMNE and the main opposition Social Democrats.

According to preliminary unofficial results, the VMRO DPMNE won 51 of the 120 seats in parliament and the Social Democrats won 49. The results do not give a guarantee to any party that it will be able...