Macedonian Women Form Human Shield Around Police to Keep Protests Peaceful

[polly7]

Posted 7 May 2015 10:29 GMT

In an extraordinary sight only one day after police violently dispersed demonstrators in Macedonia with water cannons, smoke bombs and batons, a group of women out to protest formed a human shield around officers to protect them from provocateurs throwing glass bottles.

The women in Skopje, Macedonia's capital city, were participating in a second day of protests demanding justice after leaked recordings seemed to show officials tried to cover up the 2011 murder of Martin Neshkovski at the hands of a police officer.

On May 6, several thousand more people marched in the streets of Skopje, and the movement spread to Bitola and Prilep. The government did not repeat its demonstration of force the day before, and protests were peaceful as intended.

But in Skopje after several hours, as the crowds started to thin, a number of participants warned about the increased presence of provocateurs. A group of “football fans” wearing hoods and masks started to coalesce and throw objects at the Parliament and the police cordon separating the building from the mass of people standing or sitting on the street, lawns and in a nearby park.

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