Earlier this month former interior minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) Ljube Boskovski was been aquitted of war crimes in the Hague. His bodyguard, Johan Tarculovski, on the otherhand was jailed for 11 years for the deaths of ethnic Albanians in 2001 in the village of Ljuboten.

 On July 11 he was given a hero's reception in Skopje from government officials and nationalist groups. The crowd of people greeted Boskovski, who had become somewhat of martyr figure for nationalists while in custody in the Hague, shouted anti-Albanian and anti-Greek slogans and brandished maps of 'Greater Macedonia'. The rally in Boskovski's honour is yet another sign of what observers note as sharp rise in nationalist feelings in the landlocked, former Yugoslav republic.

The Press Association reported other slogans and t-shirts as brandishing the slogan "Victory for Macedonia". Prime Minister Gruevski, church officials and other supporters greeted him at the airport as Boskovski kissed the tarmac proclaiming "this is a great day".

Critics of the Hague's decision to aquitt Boskovski have said the decision is yet another example of the inherent flaw of war crimes proceedings where the figures of higher authorities issuing orders are spared while only subordinants and those merely carrying out the orders suffer consequences.

(SOURCES: The Press Association, AFP) 

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