balkan insight
25 Nov 2010 / 23:26
Special police units were deployed in front of Macedonia’s national broadcaster A1 TV on Thursday evening after the building which houses the station was raided by agents of the financial police.
Sinisa Jakov MarusicSkopje
It has still not been confirmed that the TV channel was in fact the target of the original raid but the drama played out during a live broadcast throughout the evening. The situation grew tense as several hundred people tried to break through the police cordon around the building.
The station’s journalists, who were initially trapped inside the building, claim the raid was an attempt to shut down the TV station which is known for its criticism of the government. They say the police blocked them from doing their jobs and that two of their colleagues were physically attacked by the officers.
Prominent politicians from opposition parties and human rights activists arrived at the scene of the incident throughout the evening to show their support for the broadcasters. Many of them eventually made their way through the police lines and their statements of support were broadcast live from the studios.
Macedonia’s Journalist’s Association condemned the intrusion. “This shame should stop. The police should retreat and let the journalists carry out their work” its president Robert Popovski urged.
The EU ambassador in Macedonia, Erwan Fouere urged the police minister Gordana Jankulovska to give a full public explanation of the events surrounding the raid.
Police spokesman Ivo Kotevski told Balkan Insight that journalists at the station had been manipulated and that the police are not there to shut down or block the work of the TV channel.
“The police are there to assist the public revenue office and the financial police in financial inspections of several trade firms registered at the same address as the A1 TV”, Kotevski said.
It has still not been confirmed that the TV channel was in fact the target of the original raid but the drama played out during a live broadcast throughout the evening. The situation grew tense as several hundred people tried to break through the police cordon around the building.
The station’s journalists, who were initially trapped inside the building, claim the raid was an attempt to shut down the TV station which is known for its criticism of the government. They say the police blocked them from doing their jobs and that two of their colleagues were physically attacked by the officers.
Prominent politicians from opposition parties and human rights activists arrived at the scene of the incident throughout the evening to show their support for the broadcasters. Many of them eventually made their way through the police lines and their statements of support were broadcast live from the studios.
Macedonia’s Journalist’s Association condemned the intrusion. “This shame should stop. The police should retreat and let the journalists carry out their work” its president Robert Popovski urged.
The EU ambassador in Macedonia, Erwan Fouere urged the police minister Gordana Jankulovska to give a full public explanation of the events surrounding the raid.
Police spokesman Ivo Kotevski told Balkan Insight that journalists at the station had been manipulated and that the police are not there to shut down or block the work of the TV channel.
“The police are there to assist the public revenue office and the financial police in financial inspections of several trade firms registered at the same address as the A1 TV”, Kotevski said.
read more: balkan insight
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