MPs in Brawl in Macedonian Parliament

Skopje_ Several deputies and a journalist were involved in a fight in the Macedonian parliament building on Tuesday afternoon.

The fight started when Sadula Duraku, a deputy from the opposition Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, reportedly attacked Abduladi Vejseli, of the Party for Democratic Prosperity, PDP, apparently provoked by his speech on electoral reforms.

Once allies on Macedonia’s ethnic Albanian political scene, the two parties have parted company, and the much smaller PDP has joined the governing majority.

The tense atmosphere continued later on during inter-party consultations when deputies of the governing Democratic Party of Albanians, DPA, led by their President, Menduh Thaci, allegedly attacked DUI’s vice president, Teuta Arifi, and according to media reports she ended up in hospital.

During the incident one journalist was attacked and a TV crew from the national Alsat television was shortly detained by the police after they tried to record the increased security in front of the parliament building.

The journalist from A1 TV, Lirim Dulovi, claimed he was slapped in the face and threatened by some of the DUI’s security officers, while waiting for interviews with other reporters outside the assembly`s main hall.

Representatives from several political parties rushed to condemn the incident and exchange accusations of responsibility over the incident.

Macedonia`s prime minister Nikola Gruevski appealed for calm and called on deputies to behave in a civilised manner to enable parliament to function without incidents.

The events also elicited a strongly-worded statement from US Ambassador Gillian Milovanovic.

"Today’s shocking incidents of violence, threats and intimidation in Macedonia’s Assembly are a disgraceful betrayal of the democratic process", the ambassador's statement said. "We expect that appropriate measures will be taken in the Assembly and in the legal system to hold to account all those responsible."(Birn)