The Lions was a

special police Special police usually describes a law enforcement agency or unit within a such an agency whose duties and responsibilities are significantly different from other forces in the same nation, jurisdiction, or from other personnel within the same agen ...

unit for fast interventions formed by the Macedonian interior minister

Ljube Boškoski Ljube Boškoski (, ; born 24 October 1960) is a Macedonian politician and former Ministry of Internal Affairs (North Macedonia), Minister of Internal Affairs of Macedonia (now North Macedonia). He created and led a controversial elite Special fo ...

in 2001. It was dissolved in 2003.

History

The unit was formed in mid-2001 by the then-interior minister

during the insurgency in Macedonia. He named the unit after the hotel he owned in Croatia and his brand of wine. It was an unauthorized entity of former police and military reservists. Most were also members of

VMRO-DPMNE The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (), abbreviated as VMRO-DPMNE (), is a conservative and the main centre-right to right-wing political party in North Macedonia. It was establ ...

and some had criminal records. It also functioned as a VMRO-DPMNE-based paramilitary. Its personnel were all ethnic Macedonians but they had minimal contact with Albanians and were mostly used to provide security for Macedonian villages. After the conflict, it was transformed into an official police unit. The unit went to secure mass graves in the Tetovo area in November but it was ambushed and three members were killed by Albanians. In December, an Albanian farmer was killed by the police near Šemševo, with the Lions being the main suspects. The Lions displayed shows of force in Albanian areas in January 2002 and during the

election campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...

in September 2002. They actively threatened

ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it ...

against Albanians. The unit, along with the unit

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...

, was recorded assaulting workers, opposition journalists, media personnel, political activists and random civilians, and also threatening opposition politicians. In 2002, four members of the unit were involved in the killing of six Pakistani citizens and one Indian citizen, who were claimed to be terrorists. They were charged with murder but were acquitted in 2005. In January 2002, members of the unit received medallions of Christ from the head of the

Macedonian Orthodox Church The Macedonian Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Ohrid (MOC-AO; ), or simply the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC) or the Archdiocese of Ohrid (AO), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in North Macedonia. The Macedonian Orthodox Church ...

, Stefan, which was criticized by human rights activists, Albanian political leaders and opposition political parties. In that ceremony, the commander of the unit, Goran Stojkov, was promoted to the rank of major general.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

reported that two citizens were allegedly severely beaten and threatened with guns and knives by members of the unit near

Struga Struga ( ; , sq-definite, Struga) is a town and popular tourist destination situated in the south-western region of North Macedonia, lying on the shore of Lake Ohrid. The town of Struga is the seat of Struga Municipality. Name The name Struga ...

on 3 April 2002. The unit opposed the inclusion of former Albanian insurgents in the coalition government. Мembers of the unit and the Macedonian police had a standoff on 23-24 January 2003, blocking the main Skopje-Pristina road at the border crossing of Blace. The Lions ended their blockade after an agreement was reached between the unit, President Boris Trajkovski and Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski. It was agreed to disband the unit with most of its members joining the regular police and army. EU and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

had also applied strong pressure on the Macedonian government to disband the unit. The unit was disbanded in the same year. According to official data from

Macedonian police Law enforcement in North Macedonia is the responsibility of the Police of the Republic of North Macedonia (). The police headquarters are located in Skopje at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and also maintain an air base in nearby Idrizovo. ...

, Lions' members had been involved in more than 70 criminal acts including weapons offenses, pub brawls, murders and assaults on civilians.

Notable members

Toni Mihajlovski Toni Mihajlovski (; born 1 July 1967) is a Macedonian theater, motion picture and television actor, stand up comedian, presenter and showman. Life Mihajlovski was born in Kumanovo, Yugoslavia on the 1st of July, 1967. After completing The Facult ...

, spokesman

References

{{Reflist Specialist law enforcement agencies of North Macedonia 2001 establishments in the Republic of Macedonia 2003 disestablishments in the Republic of Macedonia 2001 insurgency in Macedonia

History

Notable members

See also

References