Macedonian protesters urged to calm down; EU official condemns violence

Following the violence exerted within the premises of Macedonia's parliament late Thursday, the head of VMRO-DPMNE Nikola Gruevski called the protesters and his supporters for calmness and restrain.

According to him, citizens and protesters who were against what VMRO-DPMNE called an unfair voting of new speaker should not succumb to provocations.

"Citizens are not succumbing to the provocations of SDSM and of those who wish to plunge the country in even deeper crisis," Gruevski said in a post on social networks.

He stressed that violence was not a solution to country's situation while he added that VMRO-DPMNE would use all legal, democratic tools to stand against all Social Democratic Union subversive activities.

Seven people with head injuries and one suffering a knee injury were admitted in a hospital in Skopje so far after taking part in the clashes in the Macedonian parliament.

European Union enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn reacted by saying that there was no place for violence in parliament's hall.

He strongly condemned the act of protesters who stormed the Macedonian parliament and hit the MPs of SDSM, including the head of this party, Zoran Zaev who was seen with a bloody face.

Situation still remains chaotic as there are hundreds of protesters standing outside parliament building.

The SDSM led coalition voted Thursday to elect with 62 votes the new speaker Tallat Xhaferri, part of the ethnic Albanian party, DUI. Endit