The Prime Minister of North Macedonia and leader of the ruling party VMRO-DPMNE, Hristijan Mickoski, has once again accusеd Sofia of failing to respect the rights of the “Macedonian minority” in Bulgaria. At the opening of the VMRO–DPMNE Albania Association’s office in Tirana, he stated that Macedonians in Albania “have the opportunity to organize, the opportunity to freely work to preserve their culture, identity, language, and traditions—an opportunity that Macedonians in Bulgaria’s Pirin region do not have''. Mickoski promised that he would work to achieve this goal, BTA reports, citing a statement the politician made on Facebook.

BGNES reminds that, with these words, Mickoski violates the Protocol from the second session of the Joint Intergovernmental Conference three years ago. It states that “the Government of North Macedonia reaffirms its commitment that nothing in its constitution can and should not be interpreted as representing or ever will represent a basis for interference in the internal affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria in order to protect the status and rights of non-citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia.” The clause, both de facto and de jure, means that Skopje will not claim recognition of a “Macedonian minority” in Bulgaria, the agency notes.

Published and translated by Kostadin Atanasov

Photo: BGNES-archive