After the tense corona press conference, Telma director Kirovski posts, then deletes a comment critical of doctor Karadzovski’s actions

Atanas Kirovski, director of the Telma TV station, posted and then deleted a comment strongly critical of the behavior of Zarko Karadzovski, head of the Committee on infectious diseases and toward Healthcare Minister Venko Filipce.

As the daily reports of newly infected patients and deaths continue to remain grim and indicative of a Second Wave stronger than the presumed peak in April, the public appearances of Karadzovski and Filipce became more anxious. Today, Karadzovski was involved in testy exchanges with journalists who asked him whether he shares responsibility for the deteriorating situation, as well as with ethnic Albanian journalists angry that he located the reason for the on-going spike in the disregard for the social distancing rules during the month of Ramadan.

The arguments with several journalists prompted Kirovski to warn Karadzovski that he is about to have the press as an enemy.

With his insulting, demeaning and manipulative behavior toward the media, Karadzovski and Filipce will only create powerful enemies. Karadzovski today asked Telma to report that the Covid-19 illness exists, as if we were denying that so far. It was a vicious manipulation on his part that is unbecoming of his age. If they don’t respect our work, I will show them what it means to have the press as an enemy, Kirovski said.

Shortly after it was posted, the comment was deleted from Kirovski’s Facebook page, apparently under pressure. Telma was also the subject of strong criticism from Government representatives on Sunday evening, after its reporters showed how the long weekend lockdown is ignored in parts of Skopje, mainly the Cair district. The majority Muslim Albanian area is the worst affected part of Skopje, with 16 newly diagnosed cases today and 168 active cases. Centar, the much more densely populated neighboring district, had 12 new cases today and has 64 it total. But the political dispute over the cause of the current spike, which was also very evident during Karadzovski’s press conference today, led to the Government criticism of Telma, which also drew angry replies from Telma journalists who were defending their reporting as factual.