Political spectrum

Balkans join fight against violent extremism

Balkan states are asking the United States and Europe to help confront the root causes of terrorism.

Representatives of 60 countries attend the February 18th opening of the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism. [AFP]

Montenegro's smaller ruling party, the Social Democratic Party, SDP, on Monday rejected an offer by the opposition to form a transitional government to replace the government led by the Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, now 25 years in power.

Turkish opposition parties have harshly reacted to the evacuation of the Tomb of Süleyman ?ah in northern Syria, accusing the government of abandoning the country's only territory outside its borders.

A student in the western Turkish city of ?zmir has been killed during a fight at his university, sparking a political debate in which Turkey's leading nationalist and Kurdish problem-focused parties have been involved.

BELGRADE - The Social Democratic Party (SDS) launched on Friday an online poll asking the respondents if they would support a parliamentary procedure to dismiss Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic who, as they claim, violated the Constitution by publicly putting pressure on Serbia's war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic.

Macedonia's opposition Social Democratic party, SDSM, published seven more conversations on Friday, which the party said showed the arrest of opposition politician Ljube Boskoski was a setup.

Ljube Boskoski, a former Interior Minister and former leader of the United for Macedonia party, was arrested on June 6th 2011, one day after the general elections of that year.

The state mechanism is not a tool to oppress the people, but to provide services to them, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal K?l?çdaro?lu has said, criticizing the homeland security bill draft brought to parliament by the ruling party. 

BELGRADE - The motion to launch the procedure to dismiss Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic cannot be put on the agenda of the parliament's session because it has not been put forward by a minimum of one third of MPs, Parliament Speaker Maja Gojkovic said on Thursday.

President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has praised efforts by Turkey's disaster agency, the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD), for Syrian refugees while also slamming opposition parties.

Two migrants were attacked in central Athens over the weekend by suspected Golden Dawn members, Efimerida ton Syntakton daily has reported.