SDSM calls for probe into entry of Serbian 'media machinery' into North Macedonia

SDSM has asked state institutions to open an investigation into what the party calls the entry of a Serbian "media machinery" into North Macedonia, renewing concerns voiced yesterday by five national broadcasters and the public service.

SDSM alleges coordinated scheme and financial links

At a press conference the party spokesperson Bogdanka Kuzeska said the incoming Serbian media groups and related business moves follow a pattern that circumvents domestic laws and could concentrate political and economic influence. She warned that the same model is being prepared for EuroNews Macedonia and the "Alo" group, and singled out the recent entry of Serbia's Alta Bank as part of a broader mechanism.

Kuzeska said: "What is happening confirms everything SDSM has warned the Macedonian public about. Mickoski, following Vučić's recipe, is carrying out an operation of media darkness in Macedonia as well. This is the scheme of the Organized Crime Group and their sister SNS. Step by step an infrastructure is being built for political, economic and media influence of Vučić's 'Serbian world' concept, which the European Parliament has also warned about."

She added additional allegations linking the bank's arrival to possible diversion of state funds and to media financing: "Space is also being opened for Alta Insurance. Control over the information reaching Macedonian citizens and a media blackout will follow. The chief Dragan Pavlović Latas and Ivona Talevska have been tasked. When there are no results, no money in the Budget, nor a better life, when the European perspective is blocked, propaganda and media control are needed. There should be no criticism, questions and accountability, only propaganda."

The Macedonian Media Association (MMA) and public broadcaster Macedonian Radio Television (MRT) said yesterday that the Arena channels — Arena M1, M2 and M3 Premium — operate in the country without domestic licences and that the national regulator, the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services (AAVMU), is treating them incorrectly as foreign programme services.

AAVMU rejected those claims, saying the regulator has not acted unlawfully. The agency explained the mentioned channels are treated as foreign services because their originating signal is not transmitted from the territory of North Macedonia.

Photo: SDSM