Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski stated Wednesday that the materials from taped phone conversations, released yesterday by the opposition party SDSM involving the 2011 police killing of a 22-year-old man, were ‘created, cut and edited’. The Interior Ministry at first was not informed about the death of Martin Neskovski, said Gruevski adding that after receiving reports about the case, it had done its best to clarify it as soon as possible, after which the perpetrator had been arrested and convicted.

Urging the citizens to listen carefully to the materials that were released, he said the introductions of the SDSM leader at the news conferences should not be trusted.

“There were two events yesterday – (SDSM leader) Zoran Zaev’s press conference, where created and edited materials were aired. The second event was the protest outside the Government building. Regarding the first event, as much as Zaev tried to edit the conversations in order to look as if we had attempted to cover up someone’s murder, the citizens - if they listened carefully - were able to notice several things if it weren’t for his introduction. It’s true that MoI at first was not informed because no one had reported the case to the police, including the family. There was speculation that MoI had been conceiving a cover-up, however the conversations reveal that they weren’t even aware of what had happened. After learning about the case, they reacted swiftly in order to find the perpetrator and bring him to justice,” PM Gruevski told Kanal 5 TV.

On Tuesday evening, thousands of protesters gathered outside the Government building in Skopje after SDSM’s press conference. Protesters, organized by the young man’s brother, called on relevant authorities to be held responsible for the death of Martin Neskoski, who was beaten by police at a rally four years ago celebrating the election victory of VMRO-DPMNE.

He added the perpetrator had confessed to the crime, but had refused to sign a statement. “This means that the MoI never attempted to cover up something.”

“The perpetrator was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Zaev’s claim is that the authorities, MoI and I had tried to cover up a killing by a police officer… All of Zaev’s attempts to present a different picture with edited materials are to no avail,” the Premier underlined saying it was obvious that yesterday’s protests staged after the SDSM conference were planned, not spontaneous.

“Evidently, some people knew what was going to be aired, it was clear that it was planned by SDSM supporters and members… The police endured a stressful and difficult situation. It must be acted in a peaceful manner that is also wise and democratic according to the democratic rules of European countries. VMRO-DPMNE has been elected in a democratic election,” Gruevski stressed.

A total of 38 policemen were injured in the unruly protests in Skopje and 30 protesters were detained. During the protests, seven police vehicles and other equipment were also damaged.

Yesterday, he added, Zaev said ‘listen how MoI wanted to cover up a murder’ and he should have said ‘listen how MoI reacted swiftly to solve the case after finding out about the incident’.

“I call on the citizens to listen to the tapes released by Zaev wisely putting aside his introductions,” PM Gruevski said.

The Macedonian Premier also said he was prepared for talks and dialogue vowing the government would act like any European country.