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Roundup: Macedonian president calls for leaders' meeting to solve crisis

Xinhua, April 28, 2017 Adjust font size:

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov on Thursday night called for a meeting of the leaders of all political parties in the Macedonian Parliament in order "to review the current situation and to look into all options to calm and find a way out".

The meeting is to be held in Ivanov's Cabinet on Friday, after Thursday's violent clashes in the Macedonian parliament.

"In these moments of general concern I call you to remain calm and not to fall under fake provocations and manipulations," Ivanov said in his urgent address to the nation.

"I call upon all institutions to behave responsibly respecting the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Macedonia. Everyone should be responsible for his acts and aware of the consequences that come out of them," he said.

It is not clear if the parties will accept the invitation for the meeting.

At least eight people with injuries were admitted in hospital in Skopje after taking part in the clashes in the Macedonian parliament.

According to the police sources, additional 10 police officers were injured while trying to intervene and evacuate the parliamentarians out of the building.

But the number of injured is expected to be higher since the special police units still uses stunt devices to control the situation in and around the Parliament building.

Protesters rushed into the building of the Macedonian Parliament on Thursday afternoon after the MPs from SDSM and the smaller Albanian parties elected Tallat Xhaferi from DUI as new parliament speaker, although previously the Parliament session was concluded.

The live streams of the Macedonian media from the Parliament building showed that some of the protesters supporting VMRO-DPMNE trapped the MPs from SDSM in one of the meeting halls and attacked them.

Among the attacked was the leader of SDSM Zoran Zaev, who had visible physical injuries.

The protesters against the new government majority are on the streets of Skopje for the past two months, opposing the formation of the Government between SDSM and three Albanian parties -- DUI, Besa and the Alliance for the Albanians.

SDSM announced that it will demand responsibility for the bloody incidents in the Parliament.

"Members of Parliament, representatives of the citizens are severely injured, and this is a peak of the uncivilized attitude of these people who are ready to sacrifice everything in order to avoid responsibility," SDSM said in a written statement.

Tallat Xhaferi was elected with slim majority of 62 MPs (out of total 120). VMRO DPMNE called this election -- coup d'etat.

The leader of VMRO-DPMNE Nikola Gruevski, who is currently in Austria, appealed for calmness through the social networks.

"We need calming of the situation. VMRO-DPMNE will oppose this anti-state steps through legal and political democratic measures," Gruevski wrote on Facebook. Endit