“The Western Balkans and North Macedonia are the targets of sophisticated hybrid attacks led by Russia, China and Iran, trying to realize strategies and interests, which are often complementary and complementary to each other, but with specifics of certain”, says Erolld Musliu, director of the Intelligence Agency in North Macedonia, for Radio Free Europe.
According to him, propaganda narratives were recently recorded in the framework of the campaign for the double presidential and parliamentary elections in North Macedonia.
“The Intelligence Agency has observed a hybrid strategy and selective use of narratives that evoke emotional reactions, using sensitive issues in the region and that gain momentum especially during election cycles,” says Musliu in written responses to Radio Free Europe.
In the focus of propaganda, the obstacle of European integration
North Macedonia, according to him, is in the process of European integration, which is related to the constitutional changes, which are intended to be hindered through propaganda and hybrid war.
“The whole process of negotiations with Bulgaria and the adoption of the framework for talks that includes constitutional changes is being carried out with misinformation in order to manipulate opinion, to create confusion and inter-ethnic divisions,” says the head of the Macedonian Intelligence Agency.
According to Musliu, the disinformation propaganda aims to increase Euroscepticism by offering as an alternative the formal trade group BRICS and the Eurasian Union, while it takes place mainly through social networks and YouTube and TikTok platforms.
Musliu: China aims to cooperate with groups against the EU and NATO
However, Musliu does not specifically answer whether the Intelligence Agency, which he leads, has information about Chinese influence or perhaps the financing of political parties in North Macedonia with funds from Russia and other countries such as China and Iran.
He says that China, under the leadership of the Communist Party, prioritizes cooperation with certain people in North Macedonia who are against the country’s membership in NATO and the EU.
“Although in many countries such parties are marginal, it is in China’s interest to spread narratives within election campaigns that are against the Western strategic alliance and advocate a multipolar world and in cooperation with China,” says Musliu.
The Left focuses on the orientation of North Macedonia from China
The Macedonian Left Party, in addition to the Macedonian language, has its program translated into Albanian, Serbian, Turkish, Bosnian, as well as Russian and Chinese.
The candidate propo
sed by this party, Biljana Vankovska, although she did not manage to get into the runoff, in the first round of the April 24 presidential elections, she managed to get about 41,000 votes or 4.56 percent.
Vankovska, during the presidential campaign, presenting the party’s positions, emphasized that North Macedonia should start the procedure for leaving NATO.
In the program for the parliamentary elections of the Left party, it is stated that this party is committed to the abolition of visas with China, as well as to the establishment of bilateral relations at the level of strategic partnership within the 17 +1 initiative and the support of Beijing’s billion-dollar infrastructure project , Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Among the other political parties competing for the presidential or parliamentary elections, China is nowhere seen as an alternative.
From the Left party, they have not commented on the claims about its connections with Russia and China for Radio Free Europe.
Kristinovska: Certain parties promote the Chinese vision
Ana Kristinovska, who heads the non-governmental organization, Estima, which focuses on analyzing China’s policies, including the approach to North Macedonia, says that during the election campaign, there is no direct influence of China in support of any candidate or party. certain Chinese orientation.
“We have the Left party and the candidate for the president of the country that promotes China’s positions and the Chinese vision with the narratives about the formal trade group BRICS”, says Kristinovska.
She emphasizes that during the analyzes she has carried out, she has noticed that certain media publish information where China is presented in a positive connotation, that is, the beauties of this country are presented, not infrequently emphasizing the economic power.
Regarding this, the director of the Intelligence Agency, Erolld Musliu, says for REL that certain media in the country have entered the “core of hybrid action” of states that are rivals of the European Union and NATO.
“Specific activities have been detected in terms of influencing the editorial policies of certain media and portals. Through commissioned and sponsored texts, (through which) it is intended to create a reputation for a China as a state without flaws”, says Musliu.
The Chinese embassy is active on the social network Facebook
The Embassy of China in North Macedonia is quite active on the Facebook social network. The fan site shares posts from Chinese media that tout China’s successes in several fields – energy, infrastructure, economy or sports.
However, it often happens that the social network Facebook writes under such posts that they come from “Chinese media controlled by the state”.
The director of the Intelligence Agency believes that the Chinese strategy works in the long term, is characterized by patience and that in the region and in North Macedonia its influence is increasingly visible and more pronounced.
At the same time, it emphasizes several forms of hybrid action, targeting the political, academic, educational-cultural, media and non-governmental sector.
Some time ago, the current president, Stevo Pendarovski, in a statement for Radio Free Europe, said that Chinese influence in North Macedonia “undoubtedly exists” and that it comes through economic flows.
Pendarovski: Chinese influence comes through loans
However, Pendarovski makes a distinction about how China and Russia are present in North Macedonia.
Russian influence never comes through the economy. We have practically no Russian investments in North Macedonia. We never had. However, China has a completely different approach. The Chinese influence comes from investments and from the cheap loans it gives…”, stated Pendarovski.
Compared to other Western Balkan countries, North Macedonia has relatively few Chinese investments.
Two Chinese infrastructural projects have been registered in North Macedonia, specifically the construction of the highway Kicevo – Ohrid, in the western part of the country and Miladinovci – Shtip in the eastern part.
The Chinese company, Sinohydro, appears as the contractor of the construction works, but they have been accompanied by court proceedings and suspicions of various abuses in the way of carrying out the works that started in 2015./REL
