Three Macedonian Papers Face Closure

The three dailies, Vreme, Spic and Koha e Re, part of Plus Production, say this Tuesday’s editions may be the last, after the company was ordered to pay over 1 million euros in alleged evaded taxes.

“We have no money to pay our water and electricity bills or even buy printing paper,” the editor of Vreme, Kola Casule, told Balkan Insight. “Our future is completely uncertain and we expect the Revenue office to block the property of Plus Production on Friday,” he added.

The newspapers are linked with a controversial media mogul, Velija Ramkovski.
Ramkovski, who also owns country’s most prominent TV station, A1 TV, has been in detention for over six months.

He is on trial for grave financial crimes, including tax evasion and money laundering, but he claims the case against him is politically motivated. He says the VMRO-DPMNE-led government of Nikola Gruevski is targeting him for his pro opposition stance.

Prime Minister Gruevski has rejected these claims.

A1 on Monday said the head of the Revenue Office, Goran Trajkovski, had refused to comment on the recent payment order.

A1 says its existence also hangs in the balance after the Revenue Office ordered it to repay some 9 million euros in alleged evaded VAT payments, unpaid social welfare bills and revenue taxes over the last five years.

Ramkovski's troubles began last December when the authorities arrested him along with several business associates and family members.
 
After authorities on January 27 froze the bank accounts of the three dailies and the TV, the opposition started to boycott parliament and accused the government of curbing democratic freedoms.

They also stepped up demands for snap elections.

After several months of negotiations between the Prime Minister and the opposition Social Democrats, both sides agreed on early elections on June 5. But the elections only confirmed Gruevski’s dominance after he won another four years in office.

The latest global media freedom report of Freedom House, published this week, said media freedom was decreasing in Macedonia. The influential watchdog said local journalists faced an increased culture of censorship and self-censorship.