Bulgaria is deeply disturbed by the deletion of the association "Ivan Mihailov" from Bitola

We are deeply troubled by the recent actions of North Macedonia to restrict the rights of association and free expression of the Bulgarian community in this country, says Kostadin Kodjabashev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria.

- During the closure of the Bulgarian club "Ivan Mihajlov" in Bitola, Skopje did not present any real arguments. The solution is an unprincipled, tendentious and one-sided placement of the names of the associations in a distorted historical and ideological context. The fact that the beliefs of the Bulgarians in RS Macedonia are not compatible with the historical doctrine there does not mean that they are not compatible with the legal order and democratic principles. The assessments of Ivan Mihailov do not rest on the extensive corpus of historical evidence and are intended to preserve the monopoly of a deliberate and revisionist interpretation of our common history, especially the allegations of Ivan Mihailov's anti-Semitic beliefs. Ivan Mihailov himself, his environment and the management of VMRO constantly have a respectful and benevolent attitude towards the Jewish community. It is no coincidence that one of his closest collaborators, Vladimir Kurtev, a member of the last composition of the Central Committee of VMRO, has been declared a righteous man of the world by the State of Israel - said Deputy Minister Kodjabashev.

He said that the Central Registry of North Macedonia submitted about 17.000 non-governmental organizations for review to the Ministry of Justice, and within the legal term, only the associations "Ivan Mihajo" and "Tsar Boris Treti" received negative decisions for using the names chosen by their founders.

- This fact shows that the amendments to the Law on Associations and Foundations, which were hastily adopted and without public discussion, with the possibility of retroactive application, were made with a single purpose, which is the deletion from the Central Register of two organizations of Bulgarians in North Macedonia. The events of yesterday once again show the need to achieve an objective interpretation of historical events and persons from the common history between Bulgaria and North Macedonia. For this purpose, a Joint Multidisciplinary Expert Commission on Historical and Educational Issues was established. Today, we are witnessing how one-sided and biased interpretations of historical events can be used as an argument on the basis of which the authorities make decisions to limit basic rights and freedoms - he said.

In his statement, he recalls that last year on July 17, 2022, Macedonia made a clear commitment to take the necessary actions to provide the Bulgarian community with effective access to equal rights, protection from discrimination and protection of its cultural heritage and identity.

- We are carefully monitoring the implementation of these agreements in the context of the European integration of this candidate country - said Kodzhabashev.

He reminded that Bulgaria is still waiting for information and effective justice for the perpetrators of the numerous attacks on the associations of Bulgarians in Macedonia, especially for the shooting in the club in Ohrid.

- The slow implementation of justice is in great contrast to the speed with which the law was passed and the Bulgarian associations were closed. This shows the efficiency of the authorities in Skopje in restricting human rights, but not in protecting them - Kodžabashev said.

He informed the Bulgarian public that they received official information about the burning of the building of the cultural club "Ivan Mihailov" in Bitola almost a year ago.

- We were surprised when we learned from Skopje that instead of prosecuting the perpetrator of this crime to the full extent of the law, in order to prevent similar offenses in the future, the prosecutor's office agreed with the accused to receive the smallest possible sentence. We believe that this approach encouraged subsequent attacks on other Bulgarians and Bulgarian organizations in North Macedonia. We were also informed that the prosecutor's office in the neighboring country is still looking for the perpetrators of the crime against the Cultural and Information Center of the Republic of Bulgaria in Skopje. On the other hand, the Prosecutor's Office has already established that the motive of the crime is of a domestic nature. We congratulate the professionalism of the prosecutor's office in Skopje, which, without determining who is the perpetrator of the given crime, can absolutely confidently determine his motives - said the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria.

He also reminded that this is the first, as he said, "an attack against the representation of a foreign state in North Macedonia in general."

- Such serious crimes should be investigated with particular attention to the message that the entire judicial process sends to society to ensure the prevention of their reproduction. Our concern is that the institutions in Skopje, instead of trying to prevent new crimes against the local Bulgarians and the representatives of the Bulgarian state, are wasting energy and time trying to show that a problem does not actually exist. This approach is counterproductive for Skopje's aspirations for faster European integration - he adds.

Kodjabashev also reminded that in 2009 the European Court of Human Rights passed a verdict against North Macedonia for violation of the right of association and that the court's decision states that the name of the association "Radko", which is a pseudonym of Mihailov, by itself cannot to be taken as a risk and threat to public order.

The expert in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Zheljazko Radukov said that they understand the desire of the Hungarian public to see a quick result regarding the protection of Bulgarian associations.

- We are in an unenviable position, the actions of the other side have a quick effect, they are for destruction and prohibition, and our actions require a lot of effort and patience. If we reveal the whole design of our plan for our measures, we will run out of time. Everything is being done to protect these organizations in Skopje, rest assured - added Radukov at today's press conference.

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