Tirana concerned by ethnic violence in Macedonia

TIRANA, July 5 – The Albanian government has expressed concern following protests and ethnic violence in neighboring Macedonia, where ethnic Albanians have marched and clashed with police to protest the life imprisonment of six of ethnic Albanian men accused of the brutal killing of five ethnic Slavs in 2012.
“The [Albanian] Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its concern for the violence exerted against the demonstrations today,” the ministry said in a statement. Tirana also asked the Macedonian authorities and the courts to guarantee a fair and impartial court processes for all citizens of Macedonia.
“Violence does not help in clarifying the case [for which the protests are taking place] and damages inter-ethnic relations and the harmony between the communities,” said the statement, adding that Tirana would carefully follow developments in Skopje and “invites the parties to show self-restrain and cooler heads.”
Last weekend police used stun grenades to disperse hundreds of protesters angry over the verdict in a murder trial.
The protests started Friday last week over a court verdict that imposed life sentences on six Muslim men for the murder of five Christian fishermen in an alleged plot to destabilize the country. The six men deny the charges.
The prosecution had contended the crime had taken place due to religious and ethnic hatred. Most ethnic Albanians, which make up about a third of Macedonia’s 2 million population, are Muslim. Most of the majority Slavic population is Orthodox Christian. The murders back in 2012 took place on Orthodox Easter.