Bulgaria’s President: If N Macedonia keeps blocking Bulgarian participation, they block themselves for the EU

The case about the attack on Hristian Pendikov is an expression of a decades-long policy of instilling hatred towards Bulgarians and everything Bulgarian. And that is why it is extremely important that this time the authorities in the Republic of North Macedonia clearly state that this is a hate crime - not a domestic scandal, not a criminal case, Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev told media on January 27. He is in Pernik for the opening of “Surva” mummers festival.

Because many cases of systematic harassment of people with Bulgarian self-identity have not been investigated and punished, this lead to such cases of physical violence and escalation. On Monday, the Minister of Interior, the Head of the State Agency for National Security (SANS) and the Bulgarian ambassador are going to North Macedonia to ask the Macedonian authorities to clearly state what measures they are taking so that the Macedonian Bulgarians feel protected and free, Radev said.

This is not just a question of history and language, but also of basic human rights. Radev said he expects the Macedonian Bulgarians to be included in the constitution of the RNM very soon.

The President called for consolidation of efforts to use all European mechanisms to solve this problem once and for all.

"If the Republic of North Macedonia continues to block Bulgarian participation in any form, they are blocking themselves for the EU - this is clear," the President said.