The Smilkovci Lake killings ( mk, Убиствата кај Смилковско езеро) also called the Smilkovci Lake massacre (

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...

: Масакрот кај Смилковско езеро) took place on 12 April 2012. Five

ethnic Macedonian Macedonians ( mk, Македонци, Makedonci) are a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group native to the region of Macedonia in Southeast Europe. They speak Macedonian, a South Slavic language. The large majority of Macedonians identif ...

civilians were shot and killed at a man-made lake near the village of Smilkovci, outside the

capital

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

. According to the Macedonian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the attack was carried out with the intent to "incite fear and insecurity" and the ministry called it a "deliberate terrorist act aimed at destabilizing the country". The

Helsinki Committee for Human Rights The Helsinki Committees for Human Rights exist in many European countries (the OSCE region) as volunteer, non-profit organizations devoted to human rights and presumably named after the Helsinki Accords. Formerly organized into the International ...

criticized the ministry for prematurely judging the suspects as guilty. On 30 June 2014, after an 18-month trial, Alil Demiri, Afrim Ismailoviq (also known as Afrim Ismaili), Agim Ismailoviq (also known as Agim Ismaili), Fejzi Aziri, Haki Aziri and Sami Luta were sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

. Demiri and Ismailoviq were tried ''

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in absen ...

'', since they were imprisoned in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

for unlawful possession of weapons, and extradition procedures were underway. One defendant, Rami Sejdi, was released for lack of evidence. On 1 December 2017, Macedonia's Supreme Court overturned the convictions and ordered a retrial over procedural errors. In February 2021, the five men were once again found guilty and handed sentences ranging from nine years to life imprisonment.

Killings

Four of the five men killed were between 18 and 20 years of age, and the fifth was 45 years old.

Aftermath

Early police work

After the residents of the villages where the victims lived heard about the killings, angry crowds blocked the highway near the Smilkovci lake. An

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

vehicle was attacked after an OSCE employee drove the vehicle towards an angry crowd of ethnic Macedonians. Interior Minister

Gordana Jankuloska Gordana Jankuloska (, ; born 12 October 1975) is the former 10th Interior Minister of the Government of North Macedonia. She was a Minister in four cabinets of Nikola Gruevski. During the 2015 Macedonian protests, activists demanded that Gruevski ...

said in a press conference that "more than one perpetrator" killed five fishermen and that "by this point we

he police He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

are still unable to say that the killings were ethnic-related because the police have no suspects". On 15 April, the Macedonian police contacted police in neighboring countries and found a car thought to have been used by the killers near the border with

. The Interior Minister said that the police had the killers' "profile" but had not identified them.

Operation Monster

In the early hours of 1 May 2012 about 800 police officers raided 26 properties, arresting 20 people on a variety of charges. They were confirmed by Macedonian Interior Minister Gordana Jankuloska as

Islamic fundamentalists Islamic fundamentalism has been defined as a puritanical, revivalist, and reform movement of Muslims who aim to return to the founding scriptures of Islam. Islamic fundamentalists are of the view that Muslim-majority countries should return t ...

, some of whom had fought in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. The arrests took place in the villages of

Šuto Orizari Šuto Orizari ( mk, , Balkan Romani: ''Shuto Orizari''), often shortened as ''Šutka'' ( mk, Шутка, sq, Shutkë), is a neighbourhood in the City of Skopje, North Macedonia, and the seat of Šuto Orizari Municipality. It is often regarded ...

, Jaja Paša and

Aračinovo Aračinovo ( mk, Арачиново , sq, Haraçinë) is a village and seat of the municipality of Aračinovo, North Macedonia. History During the 2001 Macedonia conflict, it was occupied by ethnic Albanian insurgents. Later, during violence ...

, and weapons were found in the residences of the suspects. Also, among the seized items, National Liberation Army propraganda was present. The police used surveillance and phone tapping during the operation. In addition to primary assailants Afrim Ismailoviq (alias Afrim Ismaili), Agim Ismailoviq (alias Agim Ismaili), Alil Demiri, Fejzi Aziri and Rami Sejdi, police also charged a number of co-conspirators and associates. At the home of Nazif Memeti, police found a

handgun A handgun is a short- barrelled gun, typically a firearm, that is designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun (i.e. rifle, shotgun or machine gun, etc.), which needs to be held by both hands and also braced ...

and

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

. Ibrahim Zajdini possessed an

automatic firearm An automatic firearm is an auto-loading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firearm is capable of harvesting the excess energy released from a previous discharg ...

, several

magazines A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...

of ammunition and a

hand grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...

. Sixty-year-old grandmother Feride Bilalli possessed substantial ammunition for automatic firearms,

ammunition belt upright=1.35, An M60 machine gun belt loaded with 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges, aboard a U.S. Navy">7.62×51mm_NATO.html" ;"title="M60 machine gun belt loaded with 7.62×51mm NATO">M60 machine gun belt loaded with 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges, aboar ...

s for

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

military camouflage Military camouflage is the use of camouflage by an armed force to protect personnel and equipment from observation by enemy forces. In practice, this means applying colour and materials to military equipment of all kinds, including vehicles, ...

clothing with National Liberation Army insignia and symbols, and NLA identity cards and photo albums. Father and son Isni and Ramadan Asani had weapons in their home. A special report to the public prosecutor was filed against Qezmedin Demiri, Haki Aziri, Muamer Qailovski (alias Muamer Qaili), Besim Hajdari, Mervan Memeti, Abdula Rashitov (alias Abdula Rashiti), Suraj Asipi, Mirvet Ismailoviq (alias Mirvet Ismaili), Kimet Demiri, Qani Aziri and Rami Xhaviti. On 3 May 2012, 13 of the 20 arrested suspects were released and charges were brought against four others for weapons possession.

Protests

Protests were organised in cities and towns throughout Macedonia, two of which turned violent: in the village of Smiljkovci (the victims' home) and the city of

. The Skopje protest was organized by young people, who wanted to march in the

Saraj Municipality Saraj ( mk, , sq, Saraj) is one of the ten municipalities that make up the city of Skopje, the capital of the Republic of North Macedonia. * '' Saraj'', which means "palace" in Turkish, is also the name of the village where the municipal seat ...

where there is an Albanian-speaking majority. The protesters were stopped by police, which sparked a 10-minute conflict between police and protesters. The protesters were recorded as chanting, "A good Albanian is a dead Albanian" and " Gas chambers for the Albanians". A large, peaceful protest was reportedly organised by Čkembari in

Bitola Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki ...

, where Macedonian demonstrators marched through the main street of Širok Sokak and lit candles for the victims under the city's clock tower.

Operation Monster reaction

On 4 May 2012 fifteen to twenty thousand ethnic Albanians protested in

in support of the accused, demanding the release of the arrested Albanians and chanting "To be an Albanian is not a crime", UÇK", and "See you in the mountains". Protesters threw rocks at police and smashed the windows of a bus stop. Shukri Alia, blacklisted by the EU and wanted by Macedonian police for murder and armed attacks on two Skopje police stations, led efforts to organise protests; according to police, Alia was hiding in Kosovo.

Internal Affairs Minister

Bajram Rexhepi Bajram Rexhepi (3 June 1954 – 21 August 2017), was a Kosovar politician who served as the first elected post-war prime minister and later as interior minister of Kosovo and as a member of the Kosovo Assembly. He was a member of the second larges ...

said that any murder suspects hiding in Kosovo would be arrested. The following day, US

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician Joseph J. DioGuardi, ethnic Albanian by origin, said: "The Macedonian and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

n governments have designed a well-orchestrated top secret plan, aiming to compromise and stain the freedom-loving Albanian people in front of the world public opinion. Albanians are facing brutal tortures which have taken ultra-nationalist connotations. The Albanian people are not terrorists". Former NLA commander Xhezair Shaqiri said that he would begin a

guerrilla war Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactic ...

to protect Albanians in Macedonia and the

Morava River Morava may refer to: Rivers * Great Morava (''Velika Morava''; or only Morava), a river in central Serbia, and its tributaries: ** South Morava (''Južna Morava'') *** Binač Morava (''Binačka Morava'') ** West Morava (''Zapadna Morava'') * Mor ...

valley. Shaqiri met with former National Liberation Army and

Kosovo Liberation Army The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA; , UÇK) was an ethnic Albanian separatist militia that sought the separation of Kosovo, the vast majority of which is inhabited by Albanians, from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Serbia during the ...

(UÇK) members, discussing the need to protect the Albanian populations of Macedonia and southern Serbia against "

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

". On 11 May, five to ten thousand Albanians protested in front of the government building in Skopje demanding fair trials for the accused. Waving Albanian flags, they shouted "Albanians are not terrorists", "we are not terrorists, we are Albanians", "KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army)", "Greater Albania" "die, infidels", "murderers" "death to the

Giaour Giaour or Gawur (; tr, gâvur, ; from fa, گور ''gâvor'' an obsolete variant of modern گبر ''gaur'', originally derived from arc, 𐡂𐡁𐡓𐡀, ''gaḇrā'', man; person; ro, ghiaur; al, kaur; gr, γκιαούρης, gkiaoúris, ...

s" and "UÇK", and smashed windows in government offices and court buildings. Six policemen, one reporter and one cameraman were injured. The demonstrators also carried banners accusing

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

and Macedonians of responsibility for the killings. According to the

, the

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

"pressured the media and the courts of law" by prematurely judging the suspects "guilty for the crime, which is not in accordance with European standards". Concern was also expressed for Haki Aziri, who—under the

witness protection program Witness protection is security provided to a threatened person providing testimonial evidence to the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during, and after a trial, usually by police. While a witness may only require p ...

—was missing for six days before he appeared in court. In February 2021, Agim and Afrim Ismailovic, Alil Demiri, and Fejzi and Haki Aziri were once again found guilty by the Skopje Criminal Court. Agim and Afrim Ismailovic and Alil Demiri were sentenced to life imprisonment. Fejzi and Haki Aziri were sentenced to 15 and 9 years of imprisonment, respectively.

Popular culture

The Macedonian film,

When the Day Had No Name ''When the Day Had No Name'' or Koga denot nemaše ime (Кога денот немаше име) is a 2017 Macedonian drama film directed by Teona Strugar Mitevska. It was screened in the Panorama section at the 67th Berlin International Film ...

, is loosely based on the event.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smilkovci lake Modern history of North Macedonia Albanian nationalism in North Macedonia Mass murder in 2012 Terrorist incidents in Europe in 2012 April 2012 crimes 2012 crimes in the Republic of Macedonia Islamic terrorism in North Macedonia Terrorist incidents in North Macedonia Albanian separatism Nationalist terrorism in Europe Murder in North Macedonia 2012 murders in Europe 2010s in Skopje