Bulgaria is recognizing the Macedonian Minority

Bulgaria is recognizing the Macedonian Minority

Macedonian daily Utrinski Vesnik April 12, 2002

The Bulgarian media had announced that Bulgaria will recognize the Macedonian and Pomak minorities that live within the borders of today's Republic of Bulgaria. The government of Bulgaria had directed its Council for Ethnic Issues to prepare a statement for the Council of Europe, in which the recognition of the Macedonian minority will be announced. As argument for the recognition of the Macedonian minority is taken the fact that in the census before the last one, about 10,000 citizens in Bulgaria declared themselves as ethnic Macedonians, while in the first two censuses after World War II more then 250,000 people freely declared themselves as ethnic Macedonians. These two censuses where conducted in Bulgaria while the relations between then Yugoslavia and Bulgaria were friendly. However, with the coming of nationalist Zhelju Zhelev to power in the Bulgarian Communist Party, Bulgaria changed its mind declaring that the Macedonians do not exist as nation. As result of the various forms of pressure, intimidation, and oppression over the Macedonian minority not to declare itself as "Macedonian", the number of the Macedonians decreased to 10,000. The Macedonians however claim that far greater number then 10,000 people declared themselves as ethnic Macedonians and not as Bulgarians. The results of the last census as to how many Macedonians were written-up as Macedonians are still unknown. When exactly Bulgaria will recognize the Macedonian and Pomak minorities is unknown as well. There is strong resistance against this move from the anti-Macedonian organizations in the country which openly declare that the Macedonian nation does not exist, in spite of the fact that the Macedonians exist on every Bulgarian census as minority since World War II.

Viktor Cvetanoski for the Macedonian daily Utrinski Vesnik

http://int.utrinskivesnik.com.mk/default5713.html?pBroj=843&stID=7979&pR=3

PRIME MINISTER SAKSOBURGOTSKI - THERE ARE FEW THOUSANDS BULGARIANS WITH MACEDONIAN ORIGIN IN BULGARIA

MILS NEWS Skopje, April 08, 2003 "Bulgaria acknowledges the minorities in the country. In 2001 few thousands of citizens declared as Bulgarians with Macedonian origin, and 3 thousands of citizens stated that the Macedonian language is their mother language. These numbers show the fact that we have very good understanding for that issue, stated Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon Saksoburgotski in the Parliament of Europe.

As MIA reports, Saksoburgotski stated that Macedonia and Bulgaria and neighboring countries, which have mutual history and mutual goals. Saksoburgotski who will visit Macedonia on April 18 stated that visits of the state officials will stimulate the relations between the two countries.

"Dnevnik" writes that representatives of the seven Macedonian organizations in Bulgaria these days held meeting under patronage of the World Macedonian Congress. Thereby, they adopted the resolution for uniting of Macedonians in Bulgaria in order to realize better cooperation and coordination.