This article originally appeared at Rts.rs, translated from Serbian by Slavko Kovačević exclusively for SouthFront
Tense situation on border between Macedonia and Greece, at Gevgelija, since the implementation of state of emergency. Migrant stabbed policeman in abdomen. Macedonian police used tear gas to disperse refugees who are trying to cross from Greece to Macedonia. Eight migrants had minor injuries, and one child was injured from a stun grenade shrapnel.
Strong police forces are deployed along the border line, and the 300m long barbed wire is being set with the hopes to prevent waves of migrants to enter Macedonia from Greece. Macedonian police completely closed the border to Greece along which the members of the rapid reaction forces are deployed, and the barbed wire is set on both sides of the railroad Skopje-Thessaloniki. Reporters from the ground informed that migrants are presently on Greek territory, and Greek police is taking no steps, spectating the situation.
Some migrants are camping in tents close to the border. From time to time they demand to be allowed to enter Macedonia.
Police claims that migrants turned violent and have shown displeasure for not being allowed to cross over. Reporters are not allowed to come closer nor take footage of the border. Somewhere around 1 am this morning, about 300 migrants managed to break through and cross over to Macedonian territory. There is an operation under way to detain them and send back to Greece.
Migrants are protesting against brutality of the macedonian police force
Migrants claim that one woman was hit by a policeman and that she is now hospitalized. On the other hand, migrants are throwing rocks and other things at the police. About a hundred migrants are currently on a train station in Gevgelija, they are part of the group which managed to break through.
One migrant stabbed policeman. Witnesses are saying that policeman was wounded at the time when Macedonian special forces were checking documents of the migrants. One of them turned violent, suddenly pulled the knife and stabbed policeman in the abdomen.
Thousands of refugees are in no man’s land since yesterday. UNHCR demanded from Macedonian government to provide shelter for migrants, but the only asylum in Gevgelija can take no more than 200.
Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said yesterday, after the decision to declare state of emergency, that EU should deal with the migrants, and spokesman of Ministry of Interlan Affairs accused Greece, which is an EU member, for not controlling the border and purposely organize the migrants to cross over to Macedonia.
Macedonia is not a country. Macedonia or Makedonia is HELLAS.
Don’t be silly. Greece has no right to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Macedonia is a *geographical* term, covering parts of northern Greece and the South Slavic lands between them and Serbia. Thus, there is the Greek Macedonia — a part of Greece — and a completely separate, historically much more recent country that calls itself Macedonia, as its territory falls entirely in the geographic region of the same name. A tad complicated, but nothing too complex for an average human brain to handle.