The Institute for Democracy conducted a public opinion survey on the decisions for soldiers and victims’ status from the conflict in Macedonia, 2001. The public opinion survey was conducted by phone on a national representative example of 1100 respondents in the period from 14 to 17 September 2012.
The data gathered in the survey serves as a basis for preparation of an analysis by the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC) called “Law on Defenders” – Short Review on the Reintegration Policies. The motive for conducting this survey and preparing the review was the submission of the Bill on the special rights of the security forces of the Republic of Macedonia and their family members, publicly known as the “Law on Defenders”. This review argumentatively informs on the reintegration policies and comes in time when the status of the defenders is one of the most popular issues.
The procedure for adopting the law and the debate around it, create ethnic tensions for more than two months and no decision seems to be on the way. This review aims at contributing in overcoming this problem and introducing elements of comparisons with the international practices and the public opinion.
You can download the analysis here in pdf format.