Ljube Boshkovski, Macedonian ex-minister.
Paramilitary formation Lavovi in Macedonia. Photos: Aleksandar Pisarev.
Marionettes in politicians’ hands
By Aleksandar Pisarev.
What is happening with paramilitary formations and their ex-soldiers, now that waves of peace are finally sweeping through the Balkan region?
Created in most cases by secret police or special army services of the Balkan countries, these paramilitaries and semi terrorist organizations were threatening and terrorizing populations on the Balkans for almost 20 years. Most of the governments from the region today claim that these formations have been transformed and disarmed, although, as it frequently turns out, these statements are not entirely true. According our analyses, there are still more than 70-80.000 armed members of different groups in the Balkans, which can seriously endanger peace in the region as they are constantly on standby under the control of secret services and various political parties. These groups are also connected with organized crime, smuggling and extremists from the Diaspora who are frequently financing their activities.
This is only a part of the materials which have been recorded in form of interviews or statements on over 160 pages. Their final version will be published in a book under working title Crises Stimulators, which will also incorporate two previous researches on Marginalized ethnic groups and micro regions of the Western Balkans, as well as the Illegal routes and Passing Points.
Read the whole story in English here.
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This investigations was supported by the Danish Association for Investigative Journalism.
