EditMayor of Skopje attacked amid tensions over her Bulgarian citizenship
North Macedonia’s Ministry of Interior confirmed that two suspects were detained in connection with the assault
The mayor of Skopje, Danela Arsovska, who holds Bulgarian citizenship, was physically assaulted on Friday (11 July)while carrying out official duties in the city’s Čair district. The attack occurred during her inspection of an illegal construction site located near the local police station.
According to Arsovska, the assailants, whose identities have not been publicly disclosed, kicked her in front of police officers and issued threats of rape and violence against her family. “In front of the police, they were kicking me and threatening to rape me and kill my whole family,” she said after being discharged from the emergency unit of the “September 8” City General Hospital.
North Macedonia’s Ministry of Interior confirmed that two suspects were detained in connection with the assault.
This is not the first incident involving a Bulgarian citizen in the country. In early 2023, Hristijan Pendikov, the head of the Bulgarian cultural club “Ivan Mihaylov” in Ohrid, was severely beaten following the arson attack on the club’s premises.
Arsovska has faced ongoing attacks and political pressure linked to her Bulgarian citizenship since her mayoral campaign in 2021. Initially nominated by the opposition VMRO-DPMNE, she was backed at the time by then-Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, who drew criticism for declaring that “a city manager, not a mayor, is being elected in Skopje.”
Shortly after assuming office, Arsovska fell out with VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski, refusing to align with the party’s directives. The tensions intensified after Mickoski assumed executive power, with political and media attacks against the mayor escalating.
Diplomatic tensions between Sofia and Skopje are also running high. The European Parliament’s recent progress report on North Macedonia omitted references to the “Macedonian language and identity,” sparking concerns in Bulgaria that bilateral agreements are not being respected.
In a further sign of strained relations, Mickoski publicly insulted Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister, Georg Georgiev, calling him a “mouse” in a statement made on Thursday. The comment followed Georgiev’s reference to Mickoski as the “North Macedonian prime minister” – a designation Skopje rejects, insisting solely on the term “Macedonian” despite the country’s official name being “Republic of North Macedonia” following the Prespa Agreement with Greece.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov responded from Rome, where he was attending a conference on Ukraine, stating that Mickoski should issue an apology. “When a head of government uses such insults towards a foreign official, it damages good-neighbourly relations and the fragile trust between the two countries,” he said.
Zhelyazkov reaffirmed Bulgaria’s continued support for North Macedonia’s EU accession process, provided that Skopje adheres to the commitments made in 2022 and the bilateral Treaty of Friendship, Good-Neighbourliness and Cooperation. “I will leave the prime minister’s narrative and expression to experts in Aesop’s fables,” Zhelyazkov added.
Mickoski, for his part, accused the Bulgarian government of being controlled by external forces and dismissed the foreign minister’s remarks as deliberate provocation. “This boy [Georgiev] was sent to get my attention. They told him: ‘Go provoke him now,’ like a mouse trying to provoke a lion,” Mickoski said.
In response to North Macedonia summoning Bulgarian Ambassador Zhelyazko Radukov to its Foreign Ministry, Sofia issued a formal statement. Bulgaria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Mickoski’s remarks as “unacceptable and offensive language directed at an official Bulgarian representative.”
“Such statements are incompatible with basic norms of diplomatic and political dialogue, as well as with the principles of good-neighbour relations that the Republic of North Macedonia claims to uphold but continues to breach in practice,” the ministry said.
EU parliament drops irritant from North Macedonia accession report
Caption: Danela Arsovska at the European parliament in September 2024. The photo is from her Facebook page.
Updated: July 13, 2025 - 06:44
