Why Macedonians Do Not Respect the Treaty of Friendship Between Bulgaria and Macedonia

By Victor Bivell

Why Macedonians Do Not Respect the Treaty of Friendship Between Bulgaria and Macedonia

Few Macedonians respect the so called Treaty of Friendship Between Bulgaria and Macedonia. If Bulgaria was serious about developing friendship with Macedonians it would do three things:

1. Stop claiming that Macedonians are Bulgarians and recognize Macedonians as Macedonians, as the rest of the world does.

2. Stop claiming that the Macedonian language is a dialect of Bulgarian and recognize Macedonian as a separate language, as the rest of the world does.

3. Recognize and give human rights to the ethnic Macedonians in Bulgaria and Pirin, as human rights bodies have been saying for decades.

The Treaty of Friendship does not do these and for point 3 it does the opposite. The Treaty reads:

"Article 11, 5. The Republic of Macedonia confirms that nothing in its Constitution can and should be interpreted as constituting or will ever constitute a basis for interfering in the internal affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria with the purpose of protecting the status and rights of persons who are not citizens of the Republic of Macedonia."

What this really means is that the Macedonian Government cannot ask for recognition and human rights for the ethnic Macedonians in Bulgaria.

Until the Bulgarian Government implements these three policies, Macedonians around the world will not take seriously the Treaty of Friendship and Bulgarian claims of friendship.

13 Nov 2024

Source: www.pollitecon.com