Macedonian Court to Rule on TV's Bankruptcy

The court in Skopje | Photo by: Balkan Insight

At a session set for July 26, the court should decide on whether to pronounce the bankruptcy of the country’s most popular TV station, which claims it is being targeted by the government of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

The tax office is ordering A1 to pay some 9 million euros in alleged back taxes. Its owner, Velija Ramkovski, has been in detention for over six months and is on trial for alleged financial crimes.

On the request of the tax office, the court recently appointed Aleksandar Petrov as a state trustee for the company. Petrov’s professional opinion on the economic condition of the TV station should be crucial when the court decides on possible bankruptcy.

On Tuesday, he entered the TV’s premises for the first time but declined to enter into speculation before reporters on whether the outlet would close or not.

“I am obliged to compile a report on economic and financial situation of the debtor,” he said.

The TV meanwhile has sent most of its reporters on unpaid leave and has drastically reduced its output of news bulletins, saying it was now unable to pay for them. Tax officials last week confiscated several of its vehicles, leaving the company without some of its basic tools for work.

The sword hanging over A1 comes amid turbulent times in the Macedonian media generally.

Earlier this month three pro-opposition daily newspapers closed, leaving Gruevski’s government facing almost no opposition in the print media.

The newspapers, also owned by Ramkovski, were all confronted with huge tax bills that they were unable to pay.

After the closure of the three newspapers, the Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation, SEEMO, complained that independent media voices in Macedonia were being silenced.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE, and Freedom House also charged Prime Minister Gruevski with trying to eliminate pro-opposition media.

In the case of A1 and the three dailies, the European Commission had urged the government to allow them to pay their alleged debts in installments, in order for the outlets to stay open. Officials rejected this idea.

Macedonia’s journalists' associations have also protested over recent events in the media. Earlier this month they demanded an end to what they called the political and business targeting of critically inclined journalists and media houses.

However, several pro-government media penned a joint letter this month, supporting the authorities for pursuing payment of the alleged debts of their media competitors.

Gruevski and his VMRO-DPMNE party have insisted that they are not targeting critically oriented media with huge tax bills. They insist that tax payments concern everyone and the issue has nothing to do with media freedom.