Supporters of the ruling coalition wave national and party flags, during a rally in front of the Parliament building in Skopje, Macedonia, Monday, May 18, 2015
After Russia's Stroitransgaz announced it will build a gas pipeline across Macedonia, Skopje has come under heavy criticism from Washington, Brussels and numerous US-funded NGOs, which blasted the government for violating "European values."
It looks like the West is going to give Macedonia a lesson of "democracy," noted American writer and researcher Michael Collins, drawing a parallel between the current situation in the country and dramatic (terrible) events which took place in Libya, Syria, and Ukraine.
"The announcement of Russian pipeline deal on March 12 put the small nation in the cross hairs of the Obama administration and Congress. Allowing Russia a backdoor to sell Europe natural gas challenged the economic and political war against Russia. The US and its puppet governments in London, Paris, and Berlin give lip service to free markets. But, when it comes to Russia, political goals trump commerce," the researcher underscored.
Macedonia's Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski was accused of taking bribes, shortly after the Russo-Macedonian deal had been announced.
However, "the press failed to mention that corruption has been a mainstay of Macedonian politics since independence in 1991. Even if true, the charges are just more of the same," Michael Collins highlighted. Important to note, there has been zero evidence against Gruevski's government of any wrong doing, in fact, Macedonians are going through their best economic times since their independence.
As usual, the Western corporate media have launched a large-scale campaign aimed against Macedonian authorities, accompanied by a group of tame American NGOs, which immediately joined the chorus together with Macedonia's opposition figures.
Indeed, a well-known US watchdog, the National Endowment for Democracy is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in Macedonia in order to promote "Civic Engagement in Legislative Advocacy and Public Policy Dialogue," while the George Soros funded Open Society Foundation is carrying out "coordinated actions" aimed at forcing the government "to improve accountability and transparency," the writer noted.
"Like serpents in a swamp, the NGOs lay in wait for any signs of deviation from the projects of the US financial and political elite," the researcher elaborated with unconcealed sarcasm.
Furthermore, Albania's Foreign Ministry (instructed by the US) has also raised its voice against Skopje, slamming the Macedonian authorities for police brutality towards Kosovo Albanian terrorists, who attacked the police on May 9, 2015 in the city of Kumanovo. The terror group planned to stage large scale attack against civilians.
Meanwhile, British media – Western propaganda's "heavy artillery" – reported on May, 17 of "tens of thousands" of protesters in Skopje, who have demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. There were hardly 15,000 anti-Government protesters, despite the protest being planned months in advance. In comparison, 90,000 pro-Government citizens rallied to show their support the very next day.
"There's a simple goal for the latest democracy festival in Macedonia. It's the same goal as its recent predecessors in Libya, Syria, and Ukraine," Michael Collins pointed out, "to bring [the country] some serious democracy."
Western elites have sent a clear message to Skopje and to other regimes which demonstrate "disobedience" to Washington and Brussels, saying: "cooperate or else," the writer concluded.
Bulgaria, Albania and Serbia's Government at this moment are completely under US control. Greece and Macedonia seem to be the 'odd' balls in the Balkans.
