VMRO-DPMNE Vice President Aleksandar Nikoloski accused the security services of wiretapping and persecuting the opposition in Macedonia, and asked them to investigate the recent spate of openings of Bulgarian cultural centers in the country, which are named after Nazi collaborators.

The move, openly endorsed by the Bulgarian Government, has deepened tensions between the two countries, as both initially opened clubs – “Vanco Mihajlov” in Bitola and “Tsar Boris III” in Ohrid, were promptly attacked by citizens. This provides additional arguments for Bulgaria to claim that Bulgarians in Macedonia are persecuted and to extend its veto of Macedonia’s EU accession.

The work of the Intelligence Agency, of the National Security Agency, of the Financial Intelligence Agency is to investigate who is funding the opening of these Bulgarian clubs in Macedonia. They are funded by a foundation of an exceptionally wealthy man from Bulgaria, from the medical field, who is well known to our services. How is it possible that he is allowed to interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. Our institutions are involved with wiretapping me, wiretapping our party leader Hristijan Mickoski, in our physical surveillance, and are engaged in making up lies about us that they plant in the media, but should be engaged in their actual work, and that is to protect the state and the constitutional order of Macedonia, Nikoloski said.