Bulgarians in North Macedonia: Difference between revisions

Bulgarians in
North Macedonia
Total population
	3,504 (census 2021)
Regions with significant populations
	Strumica and surrounding region
Languages
	Bulgarian and Macedonian
Religion
	Macedonian Orthodox Church
Related ethnic groups
	Bulgarians, Macedonians

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Bulgarians are an ethnic minority in North Macedonia. Bulgarians are mostly found in the Strumica area,^[1] but over the years, the absolute majority of southeastern North Macedonia have declared themselves Macedonian. The town of Strumica and its surrounding area (including Novo Selo) were part of the Kingdom of Bulgaria between the Balkan wars and the end of World War I, as well as during World War II. The total number of Bulgarians counted in the 2021 Census was 3,504 or roughly 0.2%. Around 97,000 nationals of North Macedonia have received Bulgarian citizenship since 2001, and some 53,000 are still waiting for such. In the period when North Macedonia was part of Yugoslavia, there was also migration of Bulgarians from the so called Western Outlands in Serbia.^[2]

History

Middle ages and Ottoman rule

Throughout the Middle Ages and up until the early 20th century the Slavic speaking majority in the Region of Macedonia was more commonly referred to (both, by themselves and outsiders) as Bulgarians.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Yugoslavia

Number and percentage of the Bulgarian ethnic minority in Macedonia from 1948-2021^[6]^[7]^[8]
Ethnic group	census 1948		census 1953		census 1961		census 1971		census 1981		census 1991		census 1994		census 2002		census 2021
Ethnic group	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Bulgarians	889	0.1	920	0.1	3,087	0.2	3,334	0.2	1,984	0.1	1,370	0.1	1,682	0.1	1,417	0.1	3,504	0.2

Until the Balkan wars the majority of the Slav population of all three parts of the wider region of Macedonia had Bulgarian identity.^[9] In 1913, the region of present-day Republic of North Macedonia became a part of the Kingdom of Serbia, thus becoming Southern Serbia. During World War I and World War II, when most regions of Macedonia were annexed by Bulgaria, a pro-Bulgarian sentiment still existed among the Slavic majority.^[10]^[11] However, harsh treatment by occupying Bulgarian troops reduced significantly the pro-Bulgarian orientation of the Macedonian Slavs.^[12] After the end of World War II, the creation of People's Republic of Macedonia and the codification of a new Macedonian language, a process of ethnogenesis started and a distinct national Macedonian identity was inaugurated into an established system. The new Yugoslav authorities began a policy of removing of any Bulgarian influence, making North Macedonia a connecting link for the establishment of new Balkan Communist Federation and creating a distinct Slavic consciousness that would inspire identification with Yugoslavia.^[13] The authorities took also repressive measures that would overcome the Bulgarian national identity of the population, such as the Bloody Christmas in 1945.^[14]^[15] In North Macedonia the Bulgarophobia increased almost to the level of state ideology,^[16] and the communists were successful in removing all Bulgarian influence in the region.^[14] A special Law for the Protection of Macedonian National Honour was passed by the government of the SR Macedonia at the end of 1944. The Presidium of Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia established a special court for the implementation of this law, which came into effect on January 3, 1945.^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20] Bulgarian sources claim that in early 1945, around 100,000 Bulgarophiles were imprisoned and over 1,260 were allegedly killed due to this Law.^[21]^[22] In the period between 1945 and 1991, when North Macedonia was part of Yugoslavia, there was also migration of Bulgarian population from SR Serbia to the SR Macedonia.^[23] The number of these migrants is unofficially estimated at 20,000.^[24]

The fall of Communism to present-day

By the time the then-Republic of Macedonia proclaimed its independence those who continued to look to Bulgaria were very few.^[14] Some 3,000 - 4,000 people that stuck to their Bulgarian identity (most from Strumica and surroundings) met great hostility among the authorities and the rest of the population. With the fall of Communism the hostility decreased, but still remains.^[14] Occasional trials against Bulgarophiles have continued until today.^[25]^[26] In the period after 1991 ca. 100,000 citizens of North Macedonia have acquired Bulgarian citizenship (which represents 10% of the self-declared ethnic Macedonians in the country in the 2021 population census), almost all of them acquired by descent and always on 1st position by acquired citizenship per country. On 11 December 2020 at the Parliament, the Minister of Justice of Bulgaria Desislava Ahladova reported that from 1 January 2010 to 22 October 2020, 77,829 files have been opened for the acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship by citizens of North Macedonia, 77,762 of them based on declared Bulgarian origin.^[27] Macedonian citizens are starting to take out Bulgarian passports due to the fact that Bulgaria is becoming a member of the European Union, and with that, the only prospect for Macedonian citizens is to be able to work and live in European countries where there are greater conditions for prosperity.

Year	Period	Acquired citizenships	Position
2002-2012^[28]	22.01.2002-15.01.2012	44,211	1
2012^[29]	23.01.2012-22.01.2013	8,185	1
2013^[30]	23.01.2013-22.01.2014	4,388	1
2014^[31]	01.01.2014-31.12.2014	1,874	1
2015^[32]	01.01.2015-31.12.2015	4,315	1
2016^[33]	01.01.2016-31.12.2016	6,196	1
2017^[34]	14.01.2017-31.12.2017	1,150	1
2018^[35]	01.01.2018-31.12.2018	3,619	1
2019^[36]	01.01.2019-31.12.2019	5,628	1
2020^[37]	01.01.2020-31.12.2020	9,098	1
2021^[38]	01.01.2021-31.12.2021	7,696	1
Total	22.01.2002-31.12.2021	96,360	1

Per Bulgarian President Rumen Radev in 2021 some 120,000 Macedonian citizens held Bulgarian passports and thus Bulgaria insists on putting them into the North Macedonia's constitution, which already lists Albanians, Serbs, Bosniaks, Turks and Roma.^[39]

Politics

Bulgarians in North Macedonia do not have their own political parties, but still have political activity. Many politicians have revealed their affiliation to Bulgaria after leaving the political stage, such as Ljubčo Georgievski.^[40]

Association Radko

Association Radko is an illegal Bulgarian political organisation in North Macedonia. The "Radko" association was registered in Ohrid in 2000. In 2001 the Constitutional Court of North Macedonia banned the organization Radko as "promoting racial and religious hate and intolerance".^[41] The association is named after the conspiration pseudonym of Ivan Mihailov, leader of Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization during the interbellum. In official Macedonian historiography, Mihailov is a terrorist and a Bulgarian chauvinist. In 2009 the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, condemned North Macedonia because of violations of the European Convention of Human Rights in this case.^[42]

Bulgarian clubs

In the autumn of 2022, the parliament of North Macedonia adopted changes to the Law on Associations and Foundations in which clubs and organizations cannot be registered if their names reference fascism and national socialism or if they incite religious, national or racial hatred or intolerance. This change came after the opening of two Bulgarian clubs - one named after Ivan Mihailov and the other named after Tsar Boris III. There was also an attempt to register a third club, named after Tsar Ferdinand I. After the opening of the two clubs, protests were organized and the clubs were attacked.^[43] The Commission for Protection against Discrimination concluded that the club names discriminate against the Macedonian public on a national and ethnic grounds. The Commission was referred by the Association of Fighters the National Liberation War and the anti-fascist war. ^[44] According to the Bulgarian co-chairman of the common Bulgarian-Macedonian historical commission Angel Dimitrov, the arguments for these changes remind him of the Law for the Protection of Macedonian National Honour. Per Dimitrov, this shows that the Macedonians still use propaganda from the early times of Communist Yugoslavia.^[45]

Ethnically motivated assaults

There has been a wave of hate-crime motivated attacks on Bulgarian cultural clubs in North Macedonia since the beginning of 2022. On 7 February 2022, the glass windows of the Ivan Mihaylov Cultural Club in Bitola were smashed.^[46]. On 5 June 2022, the entire building of the club was set on fire.^[47] Although the attacker, Lambe Alabakovski was swiftly apprehended, he was only given a 6 months' suspended sentence and was largly celebrated on social media as a national hero.^[48] On 12 October 2022, the sign above the front door of the Boris III Cultural Club in Ohrid was smashed.^[49] On 20 November 2022, the glass facade of the same club was smashed by three masked men throwing stones, an incident that was followed by gun fire opened at the club from a car on 22 November.^[50]^[51] As a rule, the openings of all Bulgarian clubs so far have been accompanied by protests involving anti-Bulgarian slogans, shouting of anti-Bulgarian slur such as "Tatars", "Fascists" or "Nazis", throwing eggs, burnings of the Bulgarian flag, etc.^[52] This stands in stark contrast to the opening and work of the equivalent Macedonian Cultural Club in Blagoevgrad, which has largely been marked by indifference.^[53]

The attacks have also been accompanied by vandalism and pressure against members of the Bulgarian clubs. On 30 January 2022, the car of the Chairman of the Association of Macedonian-Bulgarian Friendship in Skopje was vandalised.^[54] On 12 December 2022, the chairman of the Bulgarian club in Bitola, Lyupco Georgievski was charged, without further details, with "racism and xenophobia", to which Georgievski himself responded by saying that "This is how [the North Macedonian authorities] define everything Bulgarian or everyone who identifies as a Bulgarian".^[55] However, the most serious incident to date is the assault on the Secretary of the Bulgarian club in Ohrid, Hristian Pendikov, on 20 January 2023, resulting in brain injury, broken jaw and broken teeth, which made the news all over the world.^[56]^[57]^[58] Pendikov has been airlifted to Bulgaria, where he is hospitalised. However the motive behind the attack is unknown, and eyewitnesses state that it was not connected to his ethnicity.^[59]^[60] Three suspects have been aprahended, one of them has Bulgarian citizenship.^[59]^[61]^[62] The President of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski condemned the incident and stated that certain political subjects in Bulgaria have used this case for their political goals.^[63]

Historical connection with World War II

As a reason for the hate crimes, North Macedonian authorities have referred to their names, as Tsar Boris III and Vancho Mihailov are regarded as fascist collaborators and the Bulgarian occupation during World War II is considered one of the darkest periods in the history of the country. However, their Bulgarian opponents have argued that these claims do not correspond to historical facts and that the very existence of fascism in Bulgaria is highly contentious, as it is thought to have been fabricated to serve Bulgarian communist historiography.^[64]^[65]^[66]

For example, in contrast with the dogmas of Macedonian historiography, the Bulgarian Army is recorded to have largely been greeted as liberators by the Macedonian population in April 1941. ^[67]^[68]^[69]^[70]^[71] The Regional Committee of Communists in Macedonia headed by Metodi Shatorov refused the Communist Party of Yugoslavia's orders to denounce the Bulgarians as occupiers or start armed struggle, instead calling for the incorporation of the local Macedonian Communist organizations into the Bulgarian Communist Party^[72]^[73]

Moreover, the relative war losses of ethnic Macedonians during World War II (6,724) were by far the lowest among any other ethnic group in former Yugoslavia and even among them, more than half lost their lives on the Syrmian Front in 1945, well after the end of the occupation.^[74]^[75] In addition, up to one half of the army stationed in Vardar Macedonia (approx. 30,000) from 1941 to 1944 and most of the police consisted of local conscripts.^[76]^[77] Thus, the greatest "Bulgarian" atrocity perpetrated in the region, the massacre of 12 young civilians at the village of Vataša was actually perpetrated by an officer born in Kriva Palanka, while the only victim of the attack on 11 October 1941, celebrated as the Day of the Macedonian Uprising against fascism, was from the North Macedonian village of Smilevo and was kin of revolutionary Dame Gruev, who is otherwise revered in the country.^[78]^[79]^[80]^[81]

There are currenty minority revisionist opinions in North Macedonia that question the official historical narrative inherited from the communist era.^[82] For example, former North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev has stated that Bulgarians were not fascist occupiers and that many other historical facts that have been altered and concealed for decades in North Macedonia.^[83] According to the Macedonian researcher Katerina Kolozova, this terminology today is groundless, because significant part of these "occupiers" were practically local collaborators of the Bulgarian authorities. She maintains the descendants of the Yugoslav communist partisans in her country who form the post-Yugoslav elite are the main factor that ignites these anti-Bulgarian sentiments there.^[84]^[85] According to the former Macedonian Prime Minister Lyubcho Georgievski, the "Bulgarian occupiers" were welcomed as liberators from Serbian occupation, which was much longer and more difficult than the Bulgarian one, but in regard to which, the Macedonian society has fallen into a long historical amnesia.^[86]

References

^ Yugoslavism: histories of a failed idea, 1918–1992, Dejan Djokić, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2003, ISBN 1-85065-663-0, p. 122.
^ Проф. Пламен Павлов: Македония трябва да се откаже от антибългаризма и записването на българщината в официалните й документи може да бъде крачка напред. 12 март, 2021, Агенция Фокус.
^ "The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century," John Van Antwerp Fine, University of Michigan Press, 1991, ISBN 0472081497, pp. 36–37.
^ "Средновековни градови и тврдини во Македонија, Иван Микулчиќ, Македонска академија на науките и уметностите – Скопје, 1996, стр. 72". Retrieved 18 March 2015.
^ Academician Dimitŭr Simeonov Angelov (1978). "Formation of the Bulgarian nation (summary)". Sofia-Press. pp. 413–415. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
^ Kostovska, Lidija (2016). Statistical yearbook of the Republic of Macedonia (PDF). Skopje: State Statistical office of the Republic of Macedonia - Skopje. p. 64.
^ For more detailed census results, please see: Demographics of North Macedonia#Ethnic groups
^ Barnett R. Rubin, Victor A. Friedman (1996). Toward comprehensive peace in Southeast Europe. Observing the Observers. New York: The twentieth century fund. p. 90.
^ "Center for Documentation and Information on Minorities in Europe - Southeast Europe (CEDIME-SE) - Macedonians of Bulgaria" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2006. Retrieved 4 April 2009.
^ The struggle for Greece, 1941–1949, Christopher Montague Woodhouse, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2002, ISBN 1-85065-492-1, p. 67.
^ Who are the Macedonians?, Hugh Poulton, Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1995, ISBN 978-1-85065-238-0, p. 101.
^ Kaufman, Stuart J. (2001). Modern hatreds: the symbolic politics of ethnic war. New York: Cornell University Press. pp. 193. ISBN 0-8014-8736-6. While Bulgarian was most common affiliation then, mistreatment by occupying Bulgarian troops during WWII cured most Macedonians from their pro-Bulgarian sympathies, leaving them embracing the new Macedonian identity promoted by the Tito regime after the war.
^ Europe since 1945. Encyclopedia by Bernard Anthony Cook. ISBN 0-8153-4058-3, pg. 808.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Djokić, Dejan (2003). Yugoslavism: Histories of a Failed Idea, 1918-1992. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 122. ISBN 1-85065-663-0.
^ Phillips, John (2004). Macedonia: Warlords and Rebels in the Balkans. I.B.Tauris. pp. 40. ISBN 1-86064-841-X.
^ Mirjana Maleska. Editor-in-chief. WITH THE EYES OF THE "OTHERS". (about Macedonian-Bulgarian relations and the Macedonian national identity). New Balkan Politics - Journal of Politics. ISSUE 6 "New Balkan Politics - Issue 6". Archived from the original on 24 September 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
^ Kostov, Chris (2010). Contested Ethnic Identity: The Case of Macedonian Immigrants in Toronto, 1900-1996. Peter Lang. pp. 84–85. ISBN 9783034301961. Furthermore, between April and August of 1945, the Court for the Defence of the Macedonian National Honour was set up by Yugoslav authorities, and its targets were Macedono-Bulgarian intellectuals who openly expressed their Bulgarian identity. Writers, lawyers, journalists, doctors, teachers, priests and other prominent people received death sentences or prison terms. Mayors and other administrators during the Bulgarian regime were sentenced to death. 1,260 prominent Macedono-Bulgarians were killed by these farce processes. In 1946, Dimitar Gyuzelev, Yordan Chkartov and Dimitar Chkartov were sentenced to death, whereas seventy-four other Macedono-Bulgarian nationalists led by Angel Dimov were sentenced to jail for plotting to join Vardar Macedonia to Bulgaria.
^ Stojčev, Vanče (1996). Bugarskiot okupaciski sistem vo Makedonija, 1941-1944 [Bulgarian occupation system in Macedonia, 1941-1944] (in Slovenian). Grigor Prličev. ISBN 9789989661310. Подоцна, Президиумот на АСНОМ формирал и Суд за судење на злосторствата против честа на македонскиот народ и за казнување лица што ја извалкале македонската национална чест за време на окупацијата. [Later, the Presidium of ASNOM established a Court to try crimes against the honor of the Macedonian people and to punish persons who tarnished the Macedonian national honor during the occupation.]
^ Битовски, Крсте; Панов, Бранко (2003). Историја на македонскиот народ, Том 3 [History of the Macedonian people, Volume 3] (in Slovenian). Institute of National History. ISBN 9989624763. Президиумот на АСНОМ со посебно решение формирал Суд за судење на престапите против македонската национална чест. [The Presidium of ASNOM with a special decision established the Court for trial of the offenses against the Macedonian national honor.]
^ Makedonski arhivist, Volumes 11-12 [Macedonian Archivist, Volumes 11-12] (in Slovenian). Društvo na arhivskite rabotnici i arhivite vo SR Makedonija. 1981. Судот за судење по престапите против македонската национална чест е формиран со решение на Президиумот на Народното собрание на Македонија (ACHOM). [The Court for Trial of Offenses against the Macedonian National Honor was established by a decision of the Presidium of the National Assembly of Macedonia (ACHOM).]
^ Bulgarian sources assert that thousands lost their lives due to this cause after 1944 , and that more than 100 , 000 people were imprisoned under the law for the protection of Macedonian national honour 'for opposing the new ethnogenesis'. 1,260 leading Bulgarians were allegedly killed in Skopje, Veles, Kumanovo, Prilep, Bitola and Stip... For more see: Hugh Poulton, Who are the Macedonians? C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2000, ISBN 1850655340, p. 118.
^ John Phillips, Macedonia: Warlords and Rebels in the Balkans. (2004) I.B. Tauris (publisher), ISBN 186064841X, p. 40.
^ Богослав Јанев, Босилегратчани во Македонија, Скопје: Здружение на граѓани. "Босилеградско", 2006, Куманово: Графотекс. ISBN 9989-57-472-3.
^ Александър Димитров, Колко са българите в РС Македония? Глас, Прес 10 март 2021 г.
^ Violations of Human Rights of Macedonian citizens with a Bulgarian ethnic consciousness 1990–1997
^ Court for waved Bulgarian flag in Macedonia.
^ [ЧЕТИРИСТОТИН ТРИДЕСЕТ И СЕДМО ЗАСЕДАНИЕ София, петък, 11 декември 2020 г. Открито в 9,04 ч. https://www.parliament.bg/bg/plenaryst/ns/52/ID/10525]
^ Предоставяне на българско гражданство, Справка за преиода 22.01.2002-15.01.2012 г. (Bulgarian citizenship Information for the period 22.01.2002-15.01.2012 year)
^ Доклад за дейността на КБГБЧ за 2012-2013 година (Report on the activities of the CBCBA for 2012-2013 year), p. 7
^ Доклад за дейността на КБГБЧ за периода 23.01.2013 – 22.01.2014 година (Report on the activities of the CBCBA for the period 23.01.2013–22.01.2014 year), p. 6
^ Годишен доклад за дейността на КБГБЧ за периода 01.01.2014-31.12.2014 година (Annual report on the activities of the CBCBA for the period 01.01.2014-31.12.2014 year), p. 5
^ Годишен доклад за дейността на КБГБЧ за периода 01.01.2015-31.12.2015 година (Annual report on the activities of the CBCBA for the period 01.01.2015-31.12.2015 year), p. 6
^ Годишен доклад за дейността на КБГБЧ за периода 01.01.2016-31.12.2016 година (Annual report on the activities of the CBCBA for the period 01.01.2016-31.12.2016 year), p. 6
^ Доклад за дейността на комисията по българско гражданство за периода 14 януари – 31 декември 2017 г. (Activity Report of the Bulgarian Citizenship Commission for the period 14 January - 31 December 2017)
^ Доклад за дейността на комисията по българско гражданство за периода 01 януари – 31 декември 2018 г. (Activity Report of the Bulgarian Citizenship Commission for the period 01 January - 31 December 2018)
^ Доклад за дейността на комисията по българско гражданство за периода 01 януари – 31 декември 2019 г. (Activity Report of the Bulgarian Citizenship Commission for the period 01 January - 31 December 2019)
^ Доклад за дейността на комисията по българско гражданство за периода 01 януари – 31 декември 2020 г. (Activity Report of the Bulgarian Citizenship Commission for the period 01 January - 31 December 2020)
^ Доклад за дейността на комисията по българско гражданство за периода 01 януари – 31 декември 2021 г. (Activity Report of the Bulgarian Citizenship Commission for the period 01 January - 31 December 2021)
^ Sinisa Jakov Marusic, Fact-Check: Can North Macedonia Meet Bulgaria’s Six Demands for Breakthrough? [1]BIRN, Skopje, October 19, 2021.
^ Утрински весник, 07.08.2009, Непотребно заострување на односите, Филип Петровски.
^ РЕШЕНИЕ НА УСТАВНИОТ СУД НА РЕПУБЛИКА МАКЕДОНИЈА Публикувано во СЛУЖБЕН ВЕСНИК НА РМ Бр. 27 од 10.04.2001г. Archived 7 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
^ Judgment 15 January 2009, (Application no. 74651/01) Archived 5 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
^ Скопие преименува българските клубове "Ванче Михайлов" и "Цар Борис III". Спряха и регистрацията на трети клуб с името "Цар Фердинанд" в Богданци. Dir.bg, 3 ноември 2022.
^ КСЗД: Бугарските здруженија ги дискриминираат Македонците 24.mk, 14 октомври 2022.
^ Проф. Ангел Димитров: РСМ не се държи като кандидат за ЕС. Епицентър, 18 окт. 2022.
^ They attacked the office of the Ivan Mihailov Cultural Center in Bitola [2]
^ Bulgarian Cultural Centre in Bitola Set on Fire, Skopje and Sofia Condemn Attack (Wrap-up for June 4-5) [3]
^ Je suis Lambe Alabakovski! Македонците защитават подпалвача на българския културен център [4]
^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the attack on Bulgarian club in Ohrid: We expect institutions in North Macedonia to take action [5]
^ Gun shots fired at Bulgarian club in North Macedonia [6]
^ Attacks on Bulgarian Club Further Complicate Skopje-Sofia Relations [7]
^ "Българи, татари и фашисти": Протест в Охрид срещу откриване на български клуб [8]
^ Откриха културен македонски клуб в Благоевград [9]
^ Посегнаха на колата на председателя на македонско-българското сдружение [10]
^ Разследват за расизъм председателя на българския клуб в Битоля [11]
^ Sofia denounces ‘hate crime’ against Bulgarian cultural official in North Macedonia [12]
^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the attack on Bulgarian club in Ohrid: We expect institutions in North Macedonia to take action [13]
^ Bulgaria, North Macedonia condemn ethnic-related violence [14]
^ ^a ^b Nastoski, Zarko (20 January 2023). "Полицијата уапси тројца за претепувањето на охридскиот Бугарин Пендиков". Слободен печат (in Macedonian). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
^ "НАТЕПАНИОТ ОХРИЃАНЕЦ ЗА КОЈ БУГАРИЈА РЕЧЕ ДЕКА Е ЖРТВА ОТИ БИЛ БУГАРИН, ВО ДЕКЕМВРИ Е ФАТЕН СО КОКАИН, А ТИЕ ШТО ГО ТЕПАЛЕ СЕ ПРИЈАВУВАНИ ЗА НАРУШЕН РЕД И МИР ПОВЕЌЕ ПАТИ". Сакам Да Кажам (in Macedonian). 20 January 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
^ 365.com.mk (30 January 2023). "Бугарски пратеник: Еден од напаѓачите на Пендиков е бугарски државјанин". 365.com.mk (in Macedonian). Retrieved 4 February 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ НМ (31 January 2023). "Тепачот во бегство е со бугарски пасош – и тој и тепаниот Пендиков се со бугарски национални чувства". Нова Македонија (in Macedonian). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
^ "Пендаровски: Одредени субјекти во Бугарија го искористија случајот со Пендиков за политички цели". Радио Слободна Европа (in Macedonian). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
^ In the late 1980s per Bulgarian Marxist historiography if 1920s were increasingly viewed as form a fascist political base, the mid-1930s would still be associated with fascism and its manifestation in Bulgaria. While this categorization was not accepted by Western historians, it was only after the political changes in 1989 that the label “fascism” was openly challenged by Bulgarian scholars and instead, the term “authoritarian regimes” was adopted to denote the country's increasing political centralization in the mid-1920s and, especially, from the mid-1930s. Currently, a consensus has been reached between Bulgarian and international experts who have recognized that Bulgaria's agrarian social structure as well as her monarchic rule were the major barriers towards the infiltration of fascist practices and establishment of fascism in the country...Despite the military coup of 19 May 1934, it is acknowledged that Bulgaria's political system preserved a relative pluralism in its leading (governmental) sector up to the very eve of the communist takeover (1944). For more see: Svetla Baloutzova (2011). Demography and Nation: Social Legislation and Population Policy in Bulgaria, Central European University Press, p. 97, ISBN 6155211922.
^ The Western authorities on fascism categorically deny that a fascist regime ever existed in Bulgaria. For more see: Roumen Daskalov (2011) Debating the Past: Modern Bulgarian History: from Stambolov to Zhivkov, Central European University Press, p. 170, ISBN 6155053006.
^ In my opinion, Bulgaria cannot be defined as a classic fascist country, as can be said about then fascist Italy or Nazi Germany. We may treat Bulgaria as a pro-Nazi, pro-fascist country, but Bulgaria is not a fascist country at that time, says the Macedonian co-chairman of the joint Macedono-Bulgarian commission for historical and educational issues Dragi Gjorgiev. For more see: Фросина Димеска, интервjу со Драги Ѓоргиев - Имало бугарска окупација или инвазија, но не фашистичка. Радио Слободна Европа / Радио Слобода. 06.02.2022.
^ Bulgarian Campaign Committees in Macedonia - 1941 Dimitre Mičev (Dimiter Minchev). Hosted on Kroraina.com, retrieved 2007-08-21.
^ "Who are the Macedonians?" Hugh Poulton, Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1995, ISBN 978-1-85065-238-0, p. 101.
^ Македония 1941 Възкресение (Macedonia 1941 Resurrection), Сотир Нанев (Sotir Nanev), 1942, reprinted 1993 with ISBN 954-528-366-1, publisher Труд (Trud).(in Bulgarian) Memoirs of a Macedonia-born Bulgarian lieutenant participating in the occupation of the Yugoslavian and Greek parts of Macedonia.
^ Between Past and Future: Civil-Military Relations in Post-Communist Balkan States], by Biljana Vankovska, 2003, ISBN 9781860646249, page 270.
^ The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World, Loring M. Danforth, Princeton University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-691-04356-6, p. 41.
^ "По врвулиците на македонската историја" Иван Катарџиев. Скопје, 1986
^ "Зборник докумената и података о народоослободплачком рату jугословенских народа", т. VII, кн. 1, Борбе у Македониjи. Београд, 1952, с. XII и 22.
^ Kočović, Bogoljub (1985). Žrtve Drugog svetskog rata u Jugoslaviji [World War II Victims in Yugoslavia] (in Serbian). Naše delo, p. 126.
^ Dimitar Bechev, Historical Dictionary of North Macedonia, Historical Dictionaries of Europe, Rowman & Littlefield, 2019, ISBN 1538119625, p. 230.
^ Димитров, Пламен, Установяване на българската държавна власт в Скопска и Битолска област през 1941 г., Военноисторически сборник, 1998, бр. 5, стр. 66–76.
^ Димитров, Пламен, Рекрутиране и функциониране на българската администрация в Скопска и Битолска област 1941–1944 г. във Втората световна война и Балканите, София 2002, стр. 188–203.
^ Македонска Енциклопедија, МАНУ, Скопје, 2009, Том I (А - Л), стр. 76.
^ Ташев, Т., „Българската войска 1941 – 1945 – енциклопедичен справочник“, София, 2008, „Военно издателство“, ISBN 978-954-509-407-1, стр. 9.
^ Македонизмът и съпротивата на Македония срещу него, Коста Църнушанов, Унив. изд. "Св. Климент Охридски", София, 1992 г. стр. 206.
^ "Поверителна информация на областния полицейски началник в Битоля до директора на полицията в София за организационни, политически, обществени и др. прояви, за противодействие срещу чуждестранни пропаганди и разузнавания за периода май – декември 1941 г.". Българското управление във Вардарска Македония (1941 – 1944) – Документален сборник. Архивите говорят (63): 184. 8 March 1941.
^ Marinov, Tchavdar T. “Historiographical Revisionism and Re-Articulation of Memory in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.” (2010).
^ Зоран Заев: Договорът с България ще бъде закон. Меdiapool публикува интервюто на Любчо Нешков, собственик на информационната агенция БГНЕС. 25 November, 2020; Mediapool.bg.
^ Колозова: Практично сите „окупатори“ биле наши луѓе, не може Бугарите да депортираат толку Евреи без локална помош. Македонски весник, 25/07/2022.
^ Проф. Катерина Колозова: Потомците на партизаните в Македония претендират, че са нация, създадена от "чиста тъкан". Антифашизмът e лицето на техния фашизъм. Faktor.bg, 25 March, 2021.
^ Любчо Георгиевски: В националната памет на македонците е останало само "български фашистки окупатор". БНР, 25.09.2021.

[1] Yugoslavism: histories of a failed idea, 1918–1992, Dejan Djokić, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2003, ISBN 1-85065-663-0, p. 122.

[2] Проф. Пламен Павлов: Македония трябва да се откаже от антибългаризма и записването на българщината в официалните й документи може да бъде крачка напред. 12 март, 2021, Агенция Фокус.

[3] "The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century," John Van Antwerp Fine, University of Michigan Press, 1991, ISBN 0472081497, pp. 36–37.

[4] "Средновековни градови и тврдини во Македонија, Иван Микулчиќ, Македонска академија на науките и уметностите – Скопје, 1996, стр. 72". Retrieved 18 March 2015.

[5] Academician Dimitŭr Simeonov Angelov (1978). "Formation of the Bulgarian nation (summary)". Sofia-Press. pp. 413–415. Retrieved 18 March 2015.

[6] Kostovska, Lidija (2016). Statistical yearbook of the Republic of Macedonia (PDF). Skopje: State Statistical office of the Republic of Macedonia - Skopje. p. 64.

[7] For more detailed census results, please see: Demographics of North Macedonia#Ethnic groups

[8] Barnett R. Rubin, Victor A. Friedman (1996). Toward comprehensive peace in Southeast Europe. Observing the Observers. New York: The twentieth century fund. p. 90.

[Helsinki-9] "Center for Documentation and Information on Minorities in Europe - Southeast Europe (CEDIME-SE) - Macedonians of Bulgaria" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2006. Retrieved 4 April 2009.

[10] The struggle for Greece, 1941–1949, Christopher Montague Woodhouse, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2002, ISBN 1-85065-492-1, p. 67.

[11] Who are the Macedonians?, Hugh Poulton, Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1995, ISBN 978-1-85065-238-0, p. 101.

[12] Kaufman, Stuart J. (2001). Modern hatreds: the symbolic politics of ethnic war. New York: Cornell University Press. pp. 193. ISBN 0-8014-8736-6. While Bulgarian was most common affiliation then, mistreatment by occupying Bulgarian troops during WWII cured most Macedonians from their pro-Bulgarian sympathies, leaving them embracing the new Macedonian identity promoted by the Tito regime after the war.

[13] Europe since 1945. Encyclopedia by Bernard Anthony Cook. ISBN 0-8153-4058-3, pg. 808.

[Djokic-14] Djokić, Dejan (2003). Yugoslavism: Histories of a Failed Idea, 1918-1992. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 122. ISBN 1-85065-663-0.

[Phillips-15] Phillips, John (2004). Macedonia: Warlords and Rebels in the Balkans. I.B.Tauris. pp. 40. ISBN 1-86064-841-X.

[16] Mirjana Maleska. Editor-in-chief. WITH THE EYES OF THE "OTHERS". (about Macedonian-Bulgarian relations and the Macedonian national identity). New Balkan Politics - Journal of Politics. ISSUE 6 "New Balkan Politics - Issue 6". Archived from the original on 24 September 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2011.

[17] Kostov, Chris (2010). Contested Ethnic Identity: The Case of Macedonian Immigrants in Toronto, 1900-1996. Peter Lang. pp. 84–85. ISBN 9783034301961. Furthermore, between April and August of 1945, the Court for the Defence of the Macedonian National Honour was set up by Yugoslav authorities, and its targets were Macedono-Bulgarian intellectuals who openly expressed their Bulgarian identity. Writers, lawyers, journalists, doctors, teachers, priests and other prominent people received death sentences or prison terms. Mayors and other administrators during the Bulgarian regime were sentenced to death. 1,260 prominent Macedono-Bulgarians were killed by these farce processes. In 1946, Dimitar Gyuzelev, Yordan Chkartov and Dimitar Chkartov were sentenced to death, whereas seventy-four other Macedono-Bulgarian nationalists led by Angel Dimov were sentenced to jail for plotting to join Vardar Macedonia to Bulgaria.

[18] Stojčev, Vanče (1996). Bugarskiot okupaciski sistem vo Makedonija, 1941-1944 [Bulgarian occupation system in Macedonia, 1941-1944] (in Slovenian). Grigor Prličev. ISBN 9789989661310. Подоцна, Президиумот на АСНОМ формирал и Суд за судење на злосторствата против честа на македонскиот народ и за казнување лица што ја извалкале македонската национална чест за време на окупацијата. [Later, the Presidium of ASNOM established a Court to try crimes against the honor of the Macedonian people and to punish persons who tarnished the Macedonian national honor during the occupation.]

[19] Битовски, Крсте; Панов, Бранко (2003). Историја на македонскиот народ, Том 3 [History of the Macedonian people, Volume 3] (in Slovenian). Institute of National History. ISBN 9989624763. Президиумот на АСНОМ со посебно решение формирал Суд за судење на престапите против македонската национална чест. [The Presidium of ASNOM with a special decision established the Court for trial of the offenses against the Macedonian national honor.]

[20] Makedonski arhivist, Volumes 11-12 [Macedonian Archivist, Volumes 11-12] (in Slovenian). Društvo na arhivskite rabotnici i arhivite vo SR Makedonija. 1981. Судот за судење по престапите против македонската национална чест е формиран со решение на Президиумот на Народното собрание на Македонија (ACHOM). [The Court for Trial of Offenses against the Macedonian National Honor was established by a decision of the Presidium of the National Assembly of Macedonia (ACHOM).]

[21] Bulgarian sources assert that thousands lost their lives due to this cause after 1944 , and that more than 100 , 000 people were imprisoned under the law for the protection of Macedonian national honour 'for opposing the new ethnogenesis'. 1,260 leading Bulgarians were allegedly killed in Skopje, Veles, Kumanovo, Prilep, Bitola and Stip... For more see: Hugh Poulton, Who are the Macedonians? C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2000, ISBN 1850655340, p. 118.

[22] John Phillips, Macedonia: Warlords and Rebels in the Balkans. (2004) I.B. Tauris (publisher), ISBN 186064841X, p. 40.

[23] Богослав Јанев, Босилегратчани во Македонија, Скопје: Здружение на граѓани. "Босилеградско", 2006, Куманово: Графотекс. ISBN 9989-57-472-3.

[24] Александър Димитров, Колко са българите в РС Македония? Глас, Прес 10 март 2021 г.

[25] Violations of Human Rights of Macedonian citizens with a Bulgarian ethnic consciousness 1990–1997

[26] Court for waved Bulgarian flag in Macedonia.

[27] [ЧЕТИРИСТОТИН ТРИДЕСЕТ И СЕДМО ЗАСЕДАНИЕ София, петък, 11 декември 2020 г. Открито в 9,04 ч. https://www.parliament.bg/bg/plenaryst/ns/52/ID/10525]

[28] Предоставяне на българско гражданство, Справка за преиода 22.01.2002-15.01.2012 г. (Bulgarian citizenship Information for the period 22.01.2002-15.01.2012 year)

[29] Доклад за дейността на КБГБЧ за 2012-2013 година (Report on the activities of the CBCBA for 2012-2013 year), p. 7

[30] Доклад за дейността на КБГБЧ за периода 23.01.2013 – 22.01.2014 година (Report on the activities of the CBCBA for the period 23.01.2013–22.01.2014 year), p. 6

[31] Годишен доклад за дейността на КБГБЧ за периода 01.01.2014-31.12.2014 година (Annual report on the activities of the CBCBA for the period 01.01.2014-31.12.2014 year), p. 5

[32] Годишен доклад за дейността на КБГБЧ за периода 01.01.2015-31.12.2015 година (Annual report on the activities of the CBCBA for the period 01.01.2015-31.12.2015 year), p. 6

[33] Годишен доклад за дейността на КБГБЧ за периода 01.01.2016-31.12.2016 година (Annual report on the activities of the CBCBA for the period 01.01.2016-31.12.2016 year), p. 6

[34] Доклад за дейността на комисията по българско гражданство за периода 14 януари – 31 декември 2017 г. (Activity Report of the Bulgarian Citizenship Commission for the period 14 January - 31 December 2017)

[35] Доклад за дейността на комисията по българско гражданство за периода 01 януари – 31 декември 2018 г. (Activity Report of the Bulgarian Citizenship Commission for the period 01 January - 31 December 2018)

[36] Доклад за дейността на комисията по българско гражданство за периода 01 януари – 31 декември 2019 г. (Activity Report of the Bulgarian Citizenship Commission for the period 01 January - 31 December 2019)

[37] Доклад за дейността на комисията по българско гражданство за периода 01 януари – 31 декември 2020 г. (Activity Report of the Bulgarian Citizenship Commission for the period 01 January - 31 December 2020)

[38] Доклад за дейността на комисията по българско гражданство за периода 01 януари – 31 декември 2021 г. (Activity Report of the Bulgarian Citizenship Commission for the period 01 January - 31 December 2021)

[39] Sinisa Jakov Marusic, Fact-Check: Can North Macedonia Meet Bulgaria’s Six Demands for Breakthrough? [1]BIRN, Skopje, October 19, 2021.

[40] Утрински весник, 07.08.2009, Непотребно заострување на односите, Филип Петровски.

[41] РЕШЕНИЕ НА УСТАВНИОТ СУД НА РЕПУБЛИКА МАКЕДОНИЈА Публикувано во СЛУЖБЕН ВЕСНИК НА РМ Бр. 27 од 10.04.2001г. Archived 7 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine

[42] Judgment 15 January 2009, (Application no. 74651/01) Archived 5 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine

[43] Скопие преименува българските клубове "Ванче Михайлов" и "Цар Борис III". Спряха и регистрацията на трети клуб с името "Цар Фердинанд" в Богданци. Dir.bg, 3 ноември 2022.

[44] КСЗД: Бугарските здруженија ги дискриминираат Македонците 24.mk, 14 октомври 2022.

[45] Проф. Ангел Димитров: РСМ не се държи като кандидат за ЕС. Епицентър, 18 окт. 2022.

[46] They attacked the office of the Ivan Mihailov Cultural Center in Bitola [2]

[47] Bulgarian Cultural Centre in Bitola Set on Fire, Skopje and Sofia Condemn Attack (Wrap-up for June 4-5) [3]

[48] Je suis Lambe Alabakovski! Македонците защитават подпалвача на българския културен център [4]

[49] Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the attack on Bulgarian club in Ohrid: We expect institutions in North Macedonia to take action [5]

[50] Gun shots fired at Bulgarian club in North Macedonia [6]

[51] Attacks on Bulgarian Club Further Complicate Skopje-Sofia Relations [7]

[52] "Българи, татари и фашисти": Протест в Охрид срещу откриване на български клуб [8]

[53] Откриха културен македонски клуб в Благоевград [9]

[54] Посегнаха на колата на председателя на македонско-българското сдружение [10]

[55] Разследват за расизъм председателя на българския клуб в Битоля [11]

[56] Sofia denounces ‘hate crime’ against Bulgarian cultural official in North Macedonia [12]

[57] Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the attack on Bulgarian club in Ohrid: We expect institutions in North Macedonia to take action [13]

[58] Bulgaria, North Macedonia condemn ethnic-related violence [14]

[:0-59] Nastoski, Zarko (20 January 2023). "Полицијата уапси тројца за претепувањето на охридскиот Бугарин Пендиков". Слободен печат (in Macedonian). Retrieved 4 February 2023.

[60] "НАТЕПАНИОТ ОХРИЃАНЕЦ ЗА КОЈ БУГАРИЈА РЕЧЕ ДЕКА Е ЖРТВА ОТИ БИЛ БУГАРИН, ВО ДЕКЕМВРИ Е ФАТЕН СО КОКАИН, А ТИЕ ШТО ГО ТЕПАЛЕ СЕ ПРИЈАВУВАНИ ЗА НАРУШЕН РЕД И МИР ПОВЕЌЕ ПАТИ". Сакам Да Кажам (in Macedonian). 20 January 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.

[61] 365.com.mk (30 January 2023). "Бугарски пратеник: Еден од напаѓачите на Пендиков е бугарски државјанин". 365.com.mk (in Macedonian). Retrieved 4 February 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[62] НМ (31 January 2023). "Тепачот во бегство е со бугарски пасош – и тој и тепаниот Пендиков се со бугарски национални чувства". Нова Македонија (in Macedonian). Retrieved 4 February 2023.

[63] "Пендаровски: Одредени субјекти во Бугарија го искористија случајот со Пендиков за политички цели". Радио Слободна Европа (in Macedonian). Retrieved 4 February 2023.

[64] In the late 1980s per Bulgarian Marxist historiography if 1920s were increasingly viewed as form a fascist political base, the mid-1930s would still be associated with fascism and its manifestation in Bulgaria. While this categorization was not accepted by Western historians, it was only after the political changes in 1989 that the label “fascism” was openly challenged by Bulgarian scholars and instead, the term “authoritarian regimes” was adopted to denote the country's increasing political centralization in the mid-1920s and, especially, from the mid-1930s. Currently, a consensus has been reached between Bulgarian and international experts who have recognized that Bulgaria's agrarian social structure as well as her monarchic rule were the major barriers towards the infiltration of fascist practices and establishment of fascism in the country...Despite the military coup of 19 May 1934, it is acknowledged that Bulgaria's political system preserved a relative pluralism in its leading (governmental) sector up to the very eve of the communist takeover (1944). For more see: Svetla Baloutzova (2011). Demography and Nation: Social Legislation and Population Policy in Bulgaria, Central European University Press, p. 97, ISBN 6155211922.

[65] The Western authorities on fascism categorically deny that a fascist regime ever existed in Bulgaria. For more see: Roumen Daskalov (2011) Debating the Past: Modern Bulgarian History: from Stambolov to Zhivkov, Central European University Press, p. 170, ISBN 6155053006.

[66] In my opinion, Bulgaria cannot be defined as a classic fascist country, as can be said about then fascist Italy or Nazi Germany. We may treat Bulgaria as a pro-Nazi, pro-fascist country, but Bulgaria is not a fascist country at that time, says the Macedonian co-chairman of the joint Macedono-Bulgarian commission for historical and educational issues Dragi Gjorgiev. For more see: Фросина Димеска, интервjу со Драги Ѓоргиев - Имало бугарска окупација или инвазија, но не фашистичка. Радио Слободна Европа / Радио Слобода. 06.02.2022.

[Minchev-67] Bulgarian Campaign Committees in Macedonia - 1941 Dimitre Mičev (Dimiter Minchev). Hosted on Kroraina.com, retrieved 2007-08-21.

[68] "Who are the Macedonians?" Hugh Poulton, Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1995, ISBN 978-1-85065-238-0, p. 101.

[Nanev-69] Македония 1941 Възкресение (Macedonia 1941 Resurrection), Сотир Нанев (Sotir Nanev), 1942, reprinted 1993 with ISBN 954-528-366-1, publisher Труд (Trud).(in Bulgarian) Memoirs of a Macedonia-born Bulgarian lieutenant participating in the occupation of the Yugoslavian and Greek parts of Macedonia.

[Vankovska-70] Between Past and Future: Civil-Military Relations in Post-Communist Balkan States], by Biljana Vankovska, 2003, ISBN 9781860646249, page 270.

[71] The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World, Loring M. Danforth, Princeton University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-691-04356-6, p. 41.

[По_врвулиците-72] "По врвулиците на македонската историја" Иван Катарџиев. Скопје, 1986

[73] "Зборник докумената и података о народоослободплачком рату jугословенских народа", т. VII, кн. 1, Борбе у Македониjи. Београд, 1952, с. XII и 22.

[74] Kočović, Bogoljub (1985). Žrtve Drugog svetskog rata u Jugoslaviji [World War II Victims in Yugoslavia] (in Serbian). Naše delo, p. 126.

[75] Dimitar Bechev, Historical Dictionary of North Macedonia, Historical Dictionaries of Europe, Rowman & Littlefield, 2019, ISBN 1538119625, p. 230.

[76] Димитров, Пламен, Установяване на българската държавна власт в Скопска и Битолска област през 1941 г., Военноисторически сборник, 1998, бр. 5, стр. 66–76.

[77] Димитров, Пламен, Рекрутиране и функциониране на българската администрация в Скопска и Битолска област 1941–1944 г. във Втората световна война и Балканите, София 2002, стр. 188–203.

[78] Македонска Енциклопедија, МАНУ, Скопје, 2009, Том I (А - Л), стр. 76.

[79] Ташев, Т., „Българската войска 1941 – 1945 – енциклопедичен справочник“, София, 2008, „Военно издателство“, ISBN 978-954-509-407-1, стр. 9.

[80] Македонизмът и съпротивата на Македония срещу него, Коста Църнушанов, Унив. изд. "Св. Климент Охридски", София, 1992 г. стр. 206.

[arh184-81] "Поверителна информация на областния полицейски началник в Битоля до директора на полицията в София за организационни, политически, обществени и др. прояви, за противодействие срещу чуждестранни пропаганди и разузнавания за периода май – декември 1941 г.". Българското управление във Вардарска Македония (1941 – 1944) – Документален сборник. Архивите говорят (63): 184. 8 March 1941.

[82] Marinov, Tchavdar T. “Historiographical Revisionism and Re-Articulation of Memory in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.” (2010).

[83] Зоран Заев: Договорът с България ще бъде закон. Меdiapool публикува интервюто на Любчо Нешков, собственик на информационната агенция БГНЕС. 25 November, 2020; Mediapool.bg.

[84] Колозова: Практично сите „окупатори“ биле наши луѓе, не може Бугарите да депортираат толку Евреи без локална помош. Македонски весник, 25/07/2022.

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@@ Line 129: / Line 129: @@
 ==Politics==
 Bulgarians in North Macedonia do not have their own political parties, but still have political activity. Many politicians have revealed their affiliation to Bulgaria after leaving the political stage, such as [[Ljubčo Georgievski]].<ref>[http://www.utrinski.com.mk/?ItemID=6B075A5015A9BE4DAE86C2669F1C2D5E Утрински весник, 07.08.2009, Непотребно заострување на односите, Филип Петровски.]</ref>
-According to the [[Council of Europe]], there is no systematic discrimination against Bulgarians in North Macedonia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Анастасовска |first=Ана |date=2023-02-08 |title=За Комитетот на министри на Советот на Европа нема системска дискриминација врз Бугарите во С Македонија |url=https://360stepeni.mk/za-komitetot-na-ministri-na-sovetot-na-evropa-nema-sistemska-diskriminatsija-vrz-bugarite-vo-s-makedonija/ |access-date=2023-02-08 |website=360 степени |language=mk-MK}}</ref>
 === Association Radko ===
@@ Line 142: / Line 140: @@
 === Ethnically motivated assaults ===
-On 5 June 2022, the entrance of the "Vancho Mihaylov" club was set on fire.<ref>Bulgarian Cultural Centre in Bitola Set on Fire, Skopje and Sofia Condemn Attack (Wrap-up for June 4-5) [https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/276972-bulgarian-cultural-centre-in-bitola-set-on-fire-skopje-and-sofia-condemn-attack]</ref> The attacker, [[Lambe Alabakovski]] was swiftly apprehended and was given a 6 months suspended sentence.<ref>{{Cite web |last=НМ |date=2022-09-27 |title=Ламбе Алабаковски осуден на условна казна од шест месеци |url=https://novamakedonija.com.mk/makedonija/hronika/lambe-alabakovski-osuden-na-uslovna-kazna-od-shest-meseci/ |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=Нова Македонија |language=mk-MK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Je suis Lambe Alabakovski! Македонците защитават подпалвача на българския културен център |url=https://www.mediapool.bg/je-suis-lambe-alabakovski-makedontsite-zashtitavat-podpalvacha-na-balgarskiya-kulturen-tsentar-news336451.html |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=Mediapool.bg |language=bg-BG}}</ref> On 12 October 2022, the sign above the front door of the "Boris III" cultural club in [[Ohrid]] was smashed.<ref>Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the attack on Bulgarian club in Ohrid: We expect institutions in North Macedonia to take action [https://bnt.bg/news/ministry-of-foreign-affairs-on-the-attack-on-bulgarian-club-in-ohrid-we-expect-institutions-in-north-macedonia-to-take-a-312204news.html]</ref> On 20 November 2022, the glass façade of the same club was smashed by three masked men throwing stones, an incident that was followed by gun fire opened at the club from a car on 22 November.<ref>Gun shots fired at Bulgarian club in North Macedonia [https://bnt.bg/news/gun-shots-fired-at-bulgarian-club-in-north-macedonia-312309news.html]</ref><ref>Attacks on Bulgarian Club Further Complicate Skopje-Sofia Relations [https://balkaninsight.com/2022/11/25/attacks-on-bulgarian-club-further-complicate-skopje-sofia-relations/]</ref>
+There has been a wave of hate-crime motivated attacks on Bulgarian cultural clubs in North Macedonia since the beginning of 2022. On 7 February 2022, the glass windows of the Ivan Mihaylov Cultural Club in [[Bitola]] were smashed.<ref>They attacked the office of the Ivan Mihailov Cultural Center in Bitola [https://darik.news/en/they-attacked-the-office-of-the-ivan-mihailov-cultural-center-in-bitola.html]</ref>. On 5 June 2022, the entire building of the club was set on fire.<ref>Bulgarian Cultural Centre in Bitola Set on Fire, Skopje and Sofia Condemn Attack (Wrap-up for June 4-5) [https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/276972-bulgarian-cultural-centre-in-bitola-set-on-fire-skopje-and-sofia-condemn-attack]</ref> Although the attacker, [[Lambe Alabakovski]] was swiftly apprehended, he was only given a 6 months' suspended sentence and was largly celebrated on social media as a national hero.<ref>Je suis Lambe Alabakovski! Македонците защитават подпалвача на българския културен център [https://www.mediapool.bg/je-suis-lambe-alabakovski-makedontsite-zashtitavat-podpalvacha-na-balgarskiya-kulturen-tsentar-news336451.html]</ref> On 12 October 2022, the sign above the front door of the Boris III Cultural Club in [[Ohrid]] was smashed.<ref>Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the attack on Bulgarian club in Ohrid: We expect institutions in North Macedonia to take action [https://bnt.bg/news/ministry-of-foreign-affairs-on-the-attack-on-bulgarian-club-in-ohrid-we-expect-institutions-in-north-macedonia-to-take-a-312204news.html]</ref> On 20 November 2022, the glass facade of the same club was smashed by three masked men throwing stones, an incident that was followed by gun fire opened at the club from a car on 22 November.<ref>Gun shots fired at Bulgarian club in North Macedonia [https://bnt.bg/news/gun-shots-fired-at-bulgarian-club-in-north-macedonia-312309news.html]</ref><ref>Attacks on Bulgarian Club Further Complicate Skopje-Sofia Relations [https://balkaninsight.com/2022/11/25/attacks-on-bulgarian-club-further-complicate-skopje-sofia-relations/]</ref> As a rule, the openings of all Bulgarian clubs so far have been accompanied by protests involving anti-Bulgarian slogans, shouting of anti-Bulgarian slur such as "''Tatars''", "''Fascists''" or "''Nazis''", throwing eggs, burnings of the Bulgarian flag, etc.<ref>"Българи, татари и фашисти": Протест в Охрид срещу откриване на български клуб [https://eurocom.bg/new/blgari-tatari-i-fashisti-protest-v-okhrid-sreshchu-otkrivane-na-blgarski-klub-video]</ref> This stands in stark contrast to the opening and work of the equivalent Macedonian Cultural Club in [[Blagoevgrad]], which has largely been marked by indifference.<ref>Откриха културен македонски клуб в Благоевград [https://dariknews.bg/regioni/blagoevgrad/otkriha-kulturen-makedonski-klub-v-blagoevgrad-2329065]</ref>
-The attacks have also been accompanied by vandalism and pressure against members of the Bulgarian clubs. On 30 January 2022, the car of the Chairman of the Association of Macedonian-Bulgarian Friendship in Skopje was vandalised.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Посегнаха на колата на председателя на македонско-българското сдружение (СНИМКИ) |url=https://dariknews.bg/novini/sviat/posegnaha-na-kolata-na-predsedatelia-na-makedonsko-bylgarskoto-sdruzhenie-snimki-2298766 |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=dariknews.bg |language=bg}}</ref> On 12 December 2022, the chairman of the Bulgarian club in Bitola, Ljupčo Georgievski was called to an interrogation due to the activity of the club.<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Во петок на распит Љупчо Горгиевски, претседателот на бугарското здружение „Ванчо Михајлов“ од Битола |url=https://telma.com.mk/2022/12/12/vo-petok-na-raspit-ljupcho-gorgievski-pretsedatelot-na-bugarskoto-zdruzhenie-vancho-mihajlov-od-bitola/ |url-status=live |access-date= |website=Telma |language=mk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Претседателот на бугарскиот клуб „Ванчо Михајлов” треба да се јави на распит во битолското обвинителство |url=https://24.mk/details/pretsedatelot-na-bugarskiot-klub-vancho-mikhajlov-treba-da-se-javi-na-raspit-vo-bitolskoto-obvinitelstvo |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=24.mk |language=en}}</ref> On 20 January 2023, the secretary of the club in Ohrid was attacked.<ref>Sofia denounces ‘hate crime’ against Bulgarian cultural official in North Macedonia [https://www.euractiv.com/section/enlargement/news/sofia-denounces-hate-crime-against-bulgarian-cultural-official-in-north-macedonia/]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the attack on Bulgarian club in Ohrid: We expect institutions in North Macedonia to take action - Българска национална телевизия |url=https://bnt.bg/news/ministry-of-foreign-affairs-on-the-attack-on-bulgarian-club-in-ohrid-we-expect-institutions-in-north-macedonia-to-take-a-312204news.html |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=bnt.bg |language=bg}}</ref><ref>Bulgaria, North Macedonia condemn ethnic-related violence [https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/bulgaria-north-macedonia-condemn-ethnic-related-violence/2023/01/22/cb5cbc28-9a55-11ed-93e0-38551e88239c_story.html]</ref> Three suspects have been apprehended, one of them has Bulgarian citizenship.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Nastoski |first=Zarko |date=2023-01-20 |title=Полицијата уапси тројца за претепувањето на охридскиот Бугарин Пендиков |url=https://www.slobodenpecat.mk/policijata-uapsi-trojca-za-pretepuvanjeto-na-ohridskiot-bugarin-pendikov/ |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=Слободен печат |language=mk-MK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=365.com.mk |date=2023-01-30 |title=Бугарски пратеник: Еден од напаѓачите на Пендиков е бугарски државјанин |url=https://365.com.mk/356818/bugarski-pratenik-eden-od-napagachite-na-pendikov-e-bugarski-drzhavjanin |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=365.com.mk |language=mk-MK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=НМ |date=2023-01-31 |title=Тепачот во бегство е со бугарски пасош – и тој и тепаниот Пендиков се со бугарски национални чувства |url=https://novamakedonija.com.mk/makedonija/tepachot-vo-begstvo-e-so-bugarski-pasosh-i-toj-i-tepaniot-pendikov-se-so-bugarski-nacionalni-chuvstva/ |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=Нова Македонија |language=mk-MK}}</ref> The President of North Macedonia [[Stevo Pendarovski]] condemned the incident and stated that certain political subjects in Bulgaria have used this case for their political goals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Пендаровски: Одредени субјекти во Бугарија го искористија случајот со Пендиков за политички цели |url=https://www.slobodnaevropa.mk/a/32243074.html |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=Радио Слободна Европа |language=mk}}</ref>
+The attacks have also been accompanied by vandalism and pressure against members of the Bulgarian clubs. On 30 January 2022, the car of the Chairman of the Association of Macedonian-Bulgarian Friendship in Skopje was vandalised.<ref>Посегнаха на колата на председателя на македонско-българското сдружение [https://dariknews.bg/novini/sviat/posegnaha-na-kolata-na-predsedatelia-na-makedonsko-bylgarskoto-sdruzhenie-snimki-2298766]</ref> On 12 December 2022, the chairman of the Bulgarian club in Bitola, Lyupco Georgievski was charged, without further details, with "racism and xenophobia", to which Georgievski himself responded by saying that "''This is how [the North Macedonian authorities] define everything Bulgarian or everyone who identifies as a Bulgarian"''.<ref>Разследват за расизъм председателя на българския клуб в Битоля [https://topnovini.bg/novini/889853-razsledvat-za-rasizam-predsedatelya-na-balgarskiya-klub-ivan-mihaylov-v-bitolya]</ref> However, the most serious incident to date is the assault on the Secretary of the Bulgarian club in [[Ohrid]], Hristian Pendikov, on 20 January 2023, resulting in brain injury, broken jaw and broken teeth, which made the news all over the world.<ref>Sofia denounces ‘hate crime’ against Bulgarian cultural official in North Macedonia [https://www.euractiv.com/section/enlargement/news/sofia-denounces-hate-crime-against-bulgarian-cultural-official-in-north-macedonia/]</ref><ref>Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the attack on Bulgarian club in Ohrid: We expect institutions in North Macedonia to take action [https://bnt.bg/news/ministry-of-foreign-affairs-on-the-attack-on-bulgarian-club-in-ohrid-we-expect-institutions-in-north-macedonia-to-take-a-312204news.html]</ref><ref>Bulgaria, North Macedonia condemn ethnic-related violence [https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/bulgaria-north-macedonia-condemn-ethnic-related-violence/2023/01/22/cb5cbc28-9a55-11ed-93e0-38551e88239c_story.html]</ref> Pendikov has been airlifted to [[Bulgaria]], where he is hospitalised. However the motive behind the attack is unknown, and eyewitnesses state that it was not connected to his ethnicity.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Nastoski |first=Zarko |date=2023-01-20 |title=Полицијата уапси тројца за претепувањето на охридскиот Бугарин Пендиков |url=https://www.slobodenpecat.mk/policijata-uapsi-trojca-za-pretepuvanjeto-na-ohridskiot-bugarin-pendikov/ |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=Слободен печат |language=mk-MK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-20 |title=НАТЕПАНИОТ ОХРИЃАНЕЦ ЗА КОЈ БУГАРИЈА РЕЧЕ ДЕКА Е ЖРТВА ОТИ БИЛ БУГАРИН, ВО ДЕКЕМВРИ Е ФАТЕН СО КОКАИН, А ТИЕ ШТО ГО ТЕПАЛЕ СЕ ПРИЈАВУВАНИ ЗА НАРУШЕН РЕД И МИР ПОВЕЌЕ ПАТИ |url=https://sdk.mk/index.php/makedonija/natepaniot-ohriganets-za-koj-bugarija-reche-deka-e-zhrtva-oti-bil-bugarin-vo-dekemvri-e-faten-so-kokain-a-tie-shto-go-tepale-se-prijavuvani-za-narushen-red-i-mir-poveke-pati/ |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=Сакам Да Кажам |language=mk-MK}}</ref> Three suspects have been aprahended, one of them has Bulgarian citizenship.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=365.com.mk |date=2023-01-30 |title=Бугарски пратеник: Еден од напаѓачите на Пендиков е бугарски државјанин |url=https://365.com.mk/356818/bugarski-pratenik-eden-od-napagachite-na-pendikov-e-bugarski-drzhavjanin |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=365.com.mk |language=mk-MK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=НМ |date=2023-01-31 |title=Тепачот во бегство е со бугарски пасош – и тој и тепаниот Пендиков се со бугарски национални чувства |url=https://novamakedonija.com.mk/makedonija/tepachot-vo-begstvo-e-so-bugarski-pasosh-i-toj-i-tepaniot-pendikov-se-so-bugarski-nacionalni-chuvstva/ |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=Нова Македонија |language=mk-MK}}</ref> The President of North Macedonia [[Stevo Pendarovski]] condemned the incident and stated that certain political subjects in Bulgaria have used this case for their political goals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Пендаровски: Одредени субјекти во Бугарија го искористија случајот со Пендиков за политички цели |url=https://www.slobodnaevropa.mk/a/32243074.html |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=Радио Слободна Европа |language=mk}}</ref>
 === Historical connection with World War II ===

v t e Ethnic groups in North Macedonia
Macedonians (1,297,981)
Officially recognised minorities	Albanians (509,083) Turks (77,959) Romani (53,879) Serbs (35,939) Bosniaks (17,018) Aromanians (9,695)	Ethnic map of North Macedonia (2002)
Other minority groups	Arabs (6,300) Balkan Egyptians (3,713) Croats (2,686) Montenegrins (2,003) Bulgarians (1,417) Megleno-Romanians (< 1,000) Greeks (422) Armenians (~ 300) Jews (~ 200) Portuguese (18)	Ethnic map of North Macedonia (2002)
Demographics of North Macedonia