“A new movement dedicated to countering the influence of billionaire US philanthropist George Soros has been formed in Macedonia, shortly after the leader of the main ruling VMRO DPMNE party, Nikola Gruevski, stepped up attacks against NGOs financed from aboard.“
“The Stop Operation Soros movement, SOS, was presented on Wednesday in Skopje. Its founders are the editor-in-chief of the state-run news agency MIA, Cvetin Cilimanov, the editor-in-chief of the pro-government Republika news portal, Nenad Mircevski, and Nikola Srbov, a columnist for another pro-government news portal, Kurir.”
“The founders called on all “free minded citizens” to join SOS in the “fight against one-mindedness in the civil sector, which is devised and led by George Soros”.”
“NGOs backed by the Soros Foundation have long been a target of nationalist governments in Russia, Hungary, Macedonia and elsewhere, where authorities are deeply suspicious of their politically and socially liberal agenda and focus on human rights.”
“Last last year, immediately after the December 11 early general elections, which Gruevski’s party narrowly won, he issued a direct threat to NGOs that receive funds from abroad, saying his party would “fight for the de-Soros-isation of the country”.”
“Russia more or less outlawed Soros-affiliated organisations in 2015. This January, authorities in Hungary said they would use “all the tools at its disposal” to “sweep out” NGOs funded by the Hungarian-born financier, which “serve global capitalists and back political correctness over national governments.” Hungarian Leader Viktor Orban last year accused Soros of destabilizing Europe by encouraging mass immigration to Europe from Middle Eastern war zones.”
Read more: New ‘Stop Soros’ Movement Unveiled in Macedonia
2021-week29
