Joint declaration calls on the Bulgarian Government to recognise Macedonian minority rights

EFA member party OMO “Ilinden” – PIRIN, together with a group of organisations representing the Macedonian minority in the Republic of Bulgaria, have written a joint declaration to strongly condemn the latest provocations perpetrated by the Bulgarian Government, which operate against the opening of the European integration negotiations of the Republic of Macedonia.

The signatories of the declaration call for the recognition of the Macedonian minority rights and the rights to its citizens to self-determination. It is also claimed the cease of the government’s anti-Macedonian policies and its declarations denying the existence of the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria.

The Republic of Bulgaria has a duty to respect and to recognise the existence of the Macedonian minority as a reality in the country and as a matter of human rights. It also must fulfil its obligations as member of the international community in terms of implementing the treaties for minority rights in compliance with the international law, the human rights and the values of the European Union.