I regret that once again they missed the chance to be good neighbors. This was announced by the Prime Minister of North Macedonia Hristijan Mickoski a few days ago, to explain that Bulgaria disputes the Action Plan for Minorities in the country, “because it was prepared in the Macedonian language. On this occasion, the United Bulgarians Movement released a statement to the media.
Here's what they share:
In connection with the allegations made that the Republic of Bulgaria rejected the Plan for Minorities because the document was prepared in the “Macedonian language“, we state that this is not true. The draft of the Plan was provided and presented to representatives of the Bulgarian community in the Republic of North Macedonia in English. Therefore, the accusation that Bulgaria reacted on a “linguistic motive“ is unfounded and misleading.
The real objections are related to the content of the document. Representatives of the Bulgarian community expressed a clear opinion that the Plan does not guarantee effective protection from discrimination and violence, does not provide working mechanisms against hate speech, does not take into account the systematic violations of rights and does not provide real legal instruments for the protection of the affected persons. This raises reasonable doubts that the document is mainly formal in nature and does not aim to truly solve the existing problems.
Bulgaria consistently defends a position based on the European principles for the protection of human rights. It does not set requirements related to language or identity, but insists on real guarantees for the security and dignity of the Bulgarian community, an end to institutionalized and public hate speech, equal treatment, as well as constitutional recognition of Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia. These requirements are fully consistent with European standards and international law.
Attempts to redirect the topic to a question of “language“ represent a political diversion from the real problem - namely the need to guarantee the rights of the Bulgarian community and ensure an environment free from fear, pressure and discrimination. In this regard, we call on the government of the Republic of North Macedonia to stop using misleading interpretations regarding Bulgaria's position, to take real and measurable actions to protect the Bulgarian community, to guarantee the right to free self-identification, to take consistent measures against hate speech and to ensure constitutional recognition of Bulgarians as part of society.
We are convinced that good neighborly relations and European integration can only develop on the basis of the rule of law, respect for human rights and good-faith political dialogue.
We recall that Mickoski also said that what he warned his partners in Brussels about has happened - “… even if we make the best Action Plan for Minorities, it will be rejected by Bulgaria“.
“No member state has anything against it, no minority in Macedonia has anything against it, because there was a public debate. Well, the problem was that it was in Macedonian. Excuse me, but my mother tongue is Macedonian, the official language for international use is Macedonian, there is no other. If this bothers someone, I cannot help here and I am sorry that it is so“, said Mickoski.
The North Macedonian Prime Minister claims that everything was done as requested – the proposals of an expert from Italy were accepted when preparing the Plan and the request from Brussels “to be sent to Bulgaria a day earlier, to show goodwill“ was fulfilled.
“That is what we did – we sent it a day earlier. Well, now they are bothered by the fact that it is in Macedonian. But this is the official language according to the Constitution and I or the Minister cannot violate the Constitution. If they think that we will send it in another language &ndquo; we do not have another language according to the Constitution. This is the Macedonian language. They once again show that there is no connection with either the minorities or the Bulgarians in the Constitution. Their demands have much deeper roots and the problems are much deeper, and once again show that their intentions are completely different“, said Mickoski.
“We will accept everything, of course, without entering it into the Constitution. We will accept all the remarks, but I cannot give up my native Macedonian language“, stressed Mickoski.