Mickoski: We received information that the opposition would stir panic over Skopje water
Mickoski says police were alerted and about ten people have been called in for questioning; he calls social-media messages a "hybrid attack" and deflects blame on Gostivar to the mayor and previous ministers.
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said on August 15, 2026 that, a day before reports began circulating about allegedly contaminated drinking water in Skopje, his team had received information that opposition parties intended to provoke panic through social media.
Asked which opposition parties he meant, Mickoski said the probe is now being handled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which has summoned about ten people for questioning and will provide further details. He warned that social media have become a place where anyone can publish falsehoods without responsibility, and accused opponents of previously spreading similar claims about migrants, electricity shortages and last year’s fires to create hysteria, fear and outrage.
"Hybrid attack" and proposed legal changes
Mickoski said he expects planned amendments to the Criminal Code to introduce penalties for people who knowingly create public hysteria, describing such activity as a kind of "hybrid attack." He said: "Unfortunately, today such messages are being sent via social media that represent a kind of hybrid attack, messages whose goal is to introduce unrest, insecurity and outrage among citizens."
Speaking after the opening of a sports hall at the Krume Kepeski primary school in the Kisela Voda municipality, he added that the opposition is "idea-less and desperate" and resorts to constructed hysteria to gain political points. "You can oppose lies and constructions of the idea-less, sad and desperate opposition with work and projects," he said.
Mickoski also raised concern about what he called "commercial attempts" linked to the water scare: on a single day many supermarkets reportedly emptied their stocks of bottled water.
On accusations from the opposition demanding government responsibility for the water situation in Gostivar, he replied that they should address the mayor of Gostivar, whom the opposition had supported in the elections and who appointed the management of the public water utility. Mickoski said previous ministers, including some from the opposition ranks, should also be held accountable for failing to act despite reports of poor water quality. He stated that the Government had done everything it could to normalise the situation: for about four weeks the system was thoroughly cleaned, and for that period the Government provided two to three truckloads of water daily — roughly 50–60 tonnes — while technical water was supplied to residents after the first week. He said the investigation into the Gostivar water case should continue until everyone with even the smallest responsibility is identified and held to account.
Photo: Arhiva
