
17/09/2025
ABOUT 20 INDIVIDUALS LINKED TO FIRES IDENTIFIED, MICKOSKI CALLS FOR ARSON TO BE CLASSIFIED AS TERRORISM
The Government said on Tuesday that Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, responding to a journalist's question during the day regarding the renewed arson in Skopje and the statement of the Minister of Internal Affairs [in an interview] in which he denied that there were people setting fires, said that he would not go into whether he had been denied by the Minister of Internal Affairs.
“You saw this morning, a clear recording of arson in a building that broke out this morning at 4:30 am. I was continuously on the line with the mayor of the Municipality of Kisela Voda and with the minister and with the people from the fire department of the City of Skopje. You saw how brazenly arson is being set and that is just another proof of what I have been saying all along, that unfortunately, there are power centers that are trying to instill fear, panic among citizens before the elections. And the answer to the question of who it suits, I think that with a very brief analysis you will get yourself, if you do,” said Mickoski.
According to the press release, the Prime Minister underlined that the Ministry of Internal Affairs has identified about twenty individuals who are suspected to be behind this whole process.
“At the same time, we have had certain reports that we have been collecting in recent days and in a coordinated action, the Ministry of Internal Affairs with the Ministry of Environment will act in the coming days. So, unfortunately, there are structures that, in this way, I would say, are trying to bring instability and unrest,” the Prime Minister pointed out, according to the Government press release.
Media reports that Prime Minister Mickoski, answering journalist's questions on Tuesday, called for legislative amendments that would classify arson as terrorism.
“Within the framework of the parliamentary procedure, I discussed with the coordinator of the VMRO-DPMNE parliamentary group that urgent amendments to the laws are needed that would classify arson as an act of terrorism, and dumping waste where it does not belong would be another crime punishable by a prison sentence of more than five years,” Mickoski underlined.