Macedonian Police, Media Criticized for Treatment of Ethnic Albanians

Macedonia’s police and media treat ethnic minorities badly, fueling hostility between people of Albanian descent and the majority Macedonian Slavs, the Council of Europe’s anti-racism watchdog said in Paris on Tuesday.

The European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance said discrimination was widespread. The report said police often mistreated ethnic Albanians, who account for about one-fourth of Macedonia’s population, and Gypsies after summoning them for interviews described as “informative talks.”

“Although the situation is improving due to efforts by the Ministry of Interior, unlawful arrest and detention, excessive use of force and physical ill-treatment of detainees remain problems,” it said.

Meanwhile, at Macedonia’s Blace crossing, hundreds of ethnic Albanians headed across the border to Kosovo through the reopened entry point, which had been closed for nearly a month by fighting.

The reopening was the latest in a series of steps by the government to return to normalcy after last week’s army offensive against ethnic Albanian rebels.