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Foreign Ministry with strong position on attitude towards Bulgarians in North Macedonia

Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

"The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is monitoring with growing concern the developments in North Macedonia related to attempts to limit the right of association of Bulgarians in the country," said a statement by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

He recalls the position of the Commission for the use of personal names in the country from yesterday, that the Bulgarian cultural club in Bitola cannot be called "Ivan Mihailov" - a decision that was later approved by the Minister of Justice. 

At the same time, the Central Registry rejected the request to harmonize the name of the association "Tsar Boris III" in Ohrid. All this gives the Bulgarian Ministry reason to point out that the decisions taken by the authorities in the  Republic of North Macedonia contradict the commitments made in the field of human rights and the obligation to ensure equal rights and freedoms for all citizens, including those who identify themselves as Bulgarians.
According to Vice President Iliana Iotova, there is not a single sign that North Macedonia’s government wants to put the brakes on hate speech towards everything Bulgarian in that country or that Skopje wants to take action against the so-called criminal acts. "The joint North Macedonia-Bulgaria historical commission is not functioning", Iliana Iotova said. 


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