Macedonian government survives no-confidence vote

The Macedonian government of conservative Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski on Friday survived a no-confidence vote over a deterioration of relations with the ethnic Albanian minority. The government won a majority of 68 votes in the 123-seat strong parliament. The opposition accused the government of having raised tensions between the Macedonian majority and the country\'s ethnic Albanians, who represent some 25 percent of the population of two million and are the largest minority in the country. Gruevski\'s VMRO-DPMNE party is allied in the ruling coalition with the ethnic Albanian DUI party, led by former rebel leader Ali Ahmeti. Relations between the two partners have been occasionally marked by tensions. Inter-ethnic relations in Macedonia have been strained since several incidents early this year. In mid-April five Macedonians were found shot dead near the capital Skopje. The arrest of three people over their alleged involvement in the murder was followed by incidents between police and ethnic Albanian demonstrators who demanded their liberation. A month earlier Macedonia was the scene of violent inter-ethnic clashes after a Macedonian policeman killed two ethnic Albanians in an incident that apparently was not ethnically motivated. Some 15 people were injured in the violence. Relations between Macedonians and ethnic Albanians have been tense ever since a seven-month conflict in 2001 between government forces and ethnic Albanian rebels, who demanded more rights for the minority. The conflict ended with an internationally-brokered agreement reached in August 2001, providing more rights for ethnic Albanians.