'Harangues' Against Macedonian NGOs Reveal Gruevski's Short Memory

VMRO DPMNE leader Nikola Gruevski's New Year "mega interview" for the news portal Republika - in which he accused the Foundation Open Society - Macedonia, FOOM, of plotting to topple his government in the name of "foreign interests", naming US Billionaire George Soros as the alleged mastermind - has heated up Macedonia's media and social networks.

Citing data from FOOM, Deutsche Welle reminded its readers that Gruevski's attacks on FOOM ignore the fact that many of his most prominent associates and supporters were affiliated to this NGO in the past.

Close ally Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov, VMRO DPMNE's presidential candidate in two elections, was on the NGO's executive board from May 2002 to October 2004.

Ilija Dimovski, an MP and coordinator of the ruling party's parliamentary group, was a member of the NGO's subcommittee for awarding scholarships for studies abroad, DW reminds.

Former Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki and Toni Mihajlovski, a prominent actor and outspoken member of the pro-government movement GDOM, both used its scholarships.

Meanwhile, Macedonia's ambassador to London, Jovan Donev, another firm supporter of Gruevski's government, was president of FOOM's management board from 1996 to 2002.

He was later the executive director of the Skopje-based Evrobalkan institute of which FOOM was a founder.

Ratko Dimitrovski, Mayor of Kocani municipality and a former VMRO DPMNE MP, was the recipient of the single greatest grant that the NGO ever awarded since its formation.

In the mid-1990s, in the early years of Macedonian pluralism, FOOM gave over a million US dollars for printing equipment for Dimitrovski's printing house "Europe 92", which helped break the state-owned NIP Nova...