The chairman of the defunct association Cultural Center "Ivan Mihaylov" Ljubcho Georgievski has been accused of spreading xenophobia and racism "electronically" by the court in Bitola. The "Ilinden" association fully supports Ljubcho Georgievski, and the case has been going on for over 2 years. The next hearing is today. But there is something else. By a decision of the Council of Ministers, a person who has emigrated to North Macedonia, who does not care about Bulgaria, receives a 5,700 leva salary and works as an editor on a website. Dimche speaks to FAKTI Yamandiev, Chairman of the “Ilinden“ Association.
- Mr. Yamandiev, today in Bitola the case against Ljubcho Georgievski – Chairman of the “Ivan Mihaylov“ Cultural Center will be considered once again. The saga has been unending…
- Let me remind you that Ljubcho Georgievski is accused of two things - one is for spreading ideas on a national and racial basis, and the other is that as an administrator of a Facebook page he allowed discriminatory posts that caused outrage among people. It is ridiculous.
- The case has been going on for two years…
- What we have is that a person is accused of “thinking differently“. The accusation against him is not for a crime, but for belonging. Not for actions, but for words. This is a case against the Bulgarian historical truth – an attempt to punish the Bulgarian memory. And there is something else. While this is happening, the Bulgarian state is paying a salary of 5700 leva to a former member of the OMO “Ilinden“ – an organization that for decades has maintained anti-Bulgarian rhetoric, serves interests other than Bulgarian ones, and propagates the thesis of a separate “Macedonian nation“, unrelated to Bulgarian history. This is a person who emigrated from Bulgaria, declared a Macedonian position, and today supposedly represents Bulgarian interests – with state support. He is an editor on a website, but he does not work for Bulgarian interests. Is this the position of Bulgaria, is this how it protects people with Bulgarian identity in the Republic of North Macedonia.
- Who is this about?
- We will tell him his name later. He does not is so important, and the problem is that real Bulgarians are abandoned in the Republic of North Macedonia. And those who have silently or openly worked against Bulgaria are receiving salaries. This is a moral and strategic replacement. His salary was voted by a decision of the Bulgarian Council of Ministers.
- In the sense of…
- The services are silent. Externally – without a position. The embassy is silenced. The “Ilinden“ Association expresses categorical alarm at the criminal inaction of the institutions. The security services simply overslept or deliberately ignored the fact that a person with an open anti-Bulgarian past was appointed to a sensitive role. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not expressed an official position on a single case of pressure on Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia. The Embassy of Bulgaria in Skopje is an institution that no longer protects Bulgarian interests, but silently exists in conditions of foreign influence. It is better for the Bulgarian embassy to be closed than for it to continue serving foreign purposes. We demand a complete replacement of the staff – from the doormen to the manager. Because what we are doing to ourselves, neither Belgrade nor Moscow can do to us. There can be no national interest in half measures.
Bulgaria must decide – whether it will defend its own people or finance those who systematically deny its history. A country is strong when it stands behind its people, not by paying those who deny historical memory.