More than 5,000 demonstrators led by opposition leader Zoran Zaev marched from the prosecutor’s office to the government headquarters in Skopje on Monday. The demonstrators deployed makeshift slingshots and fired paint-filled balloons at the government buildings and police officers.
Although the demonstrators welcomed Gjorge Ivanov’s decision to rescind pardons for government officials caught in a recent wire-tapping scandal, they said it was not enough. They demanded his resignation and the full prosecution of those who were implicated.
The demonstrators also demanded the release of protesters who had been detained earlier and a halt to all proceedings against them. Pictures on Twitter showed much of the ground covered in red paint to mark the death of 22-year-old Martin Neskoski, who was fatally beaten by police in 2011.