Analysis of the new government composition with Sasho Ordanoski
With 77 votes FOR and 22 AGAINST, the new Macedonian Government headed by Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski was voted last night. He took the oath with the constitutional name. MPs of DUI and the coalition left the hall before the vote. Early this morning, the Prime Minister and the new ministers took over the functions of their predecessors.
With my colleague Sasho Ordanoski, we comment on the election of the Government and discuss the expectations from the new government composition. Watch the additional edition of Labyrinth after the constitution of the new Government.
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Macedonia got a new President - Eastern European countries are fighting for democracy
Analysis of Macedonian diplomacy, Callings from Georgia and Ukraine on the situation with the protests and the war.
The first guest in this edition of Labyrinth is the former Ambassador of Macedonia to Sweden and Romania, Tihomir Ilievski. We talked about the oath taken by the new President and the reactions it caused among our neighbors. Despite the reactions and difficulties in bilateral relations, the diplomat is still optimistic about the European integration of Macedonia, as well as about the normalization of relations in the entire Balkans.
In Georgia, massive civil protests are taking place over the law on "foreign agents" which moves the country away from the European path, but also seriously threatens the livelihood and freedom of Georgian citizens. From Tbilisi, we were joined by Ekaterine Basilaia - director of the Center for Media and Social Research of Georgia, who explained in more detail what this law is and why so many people took to the streets. We discussed the use of excessive force by the police in arresting peaceful protesters and the legal fight to protect those detained.
In Labyrinth, we also included the volunteer in the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces, Volodymyr Sapekhin. Volodymyr has been going to the fronts and back for more than two years. We talked about the current situation on the fronts, about the progress of Russian forces in the Kharkiv region, but also about his personal feelings about the two realities he lives in.
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Reportage from the welcome of Serbian students in Aleksinac and Niš
Labyrinth follows the student protests in Serbia
Serbian students were welcomed in every city with tears in their eyes, loud applause and fireworks. After the big rally in Kragujevac, the students also organized a walk to Niš. They set off from several different cities and walked for five days to their final destination. As a sign of support, several citizens, a group of marathon runners, as well as a group of cyclists, joined them, and the locals organized a welcome with loud cheers and torches. Throughout their journey, the students had medical support provided by medical students, as well as by medical staff from institutions across Serbia who volunteered to treat their wounds. Watch the reportage from part of the students' journey, and tomorrow the second part will follow, namely the reportage from the big rally on March 1st.
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Dolidze: Georgians are not giving up on the fight for a European future – There will be protests even during the holidays
Georgians will welcome the New Year with protests and will not give up on their European future – says the Leader of the For the People party, Anna Dolidze. Dolidze is an expert in international law, until 2018 she was the legal advisor to the President, and then a member of the Judicial Council.
In Labyrinth we talked about the stolen elections and the Russian hybrid influence that managed to divert the country from the European integration path. The protests escalated, and the use of water cannons and violence by the police did not change the Georgians’ minds to continue fighting for their rights. About 500 protesters, including some injured, will spend the holidays in detention. We also discussed with Dolidze the international support and the sanctions imposed by the US and the UK on some of the Georgian authorities, but not by the European Union.
