Environmentalist organizations are planning a protest tomorrow, after the city of Skopje cut down a dozen mature trees in the center of the city. The trees were cut down as part of the reconstruction of the Orce Nikolov street, in the Debar Maalo area – a popular center for cafes and restaurants.

We demand that the reconstruction project is reviewed and those who approved the cutting of the trees are held responsible. We can’t allow the cutting of any more healthy trees, or trees that can be healed. Massacring green spaces in one of the most polluted cities in Europe is not acceptable, the organizations said.

They announced that they will hold a moment of silence for the trees that were already cut and will take selfies with those who are still planned to be removed.

The now ruling SDSM party and affiliated NGO groups organized loud protests against the Skopje 2014 urban renewal project, including the removal of trees. But many of the activists at the time were hired by the Government and municipal authorities, after SDSM grabbed power in 2017, and have ignored this week’s “chainsaw massacre”.