2024-04-23 06:02:22
The inclusion of Bulgarians in the constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia, included as a condition in the country’s negotiation framework for EU membership, was done in order to save the image of Bulgaria, after the EU rejected the other Bulgarian demands, the president of the Republic of Macedonia stated in an interview with Channel 5 North Macedonia and candidate for a second term Stevo Pendarovski, BTA reported.
“Of the many illogical Bulgarian demands related to identity, language, occupation-administration, only this remained for the inclusion of Bulgarians in the constitution. Because Europe rejected all the demands of the Bulgarians, Europe said, “let’s do at least this (the inclusion of the Bulgarians in the basic law) when you already have such a constitution”. When you compromise… you reject their revision of history, you reject that the Macedonian is dialect of the Bulgarian language and that we were Bulgarians until 44, then what is left? This was to save the image of the Bulgarian negotiating party. If you already have seven and add six more nations, this is not a strategic danger for North Macedonia,” said Pendarovski.
According to him, although VMRO-DPME talks differently to foreign diplomats and to its electorate, if the party forms the next government in North Macedonia, changes to the constitution will not be voted on, because they would be hard pressed to explain, after years of statements that the negotiation framework aimed at bulgarianization of the country, this was only an election tactic.
Pendarovski once again quoted the candidate for president, nominated by VMRO-DPMNE, that “history is not a condition for starting negotiations” with the EU, explained that in addition to the Friendship and Good Neighbor Treaty, the Prespa Treaty with Greece and the Ohrid Framework Treaty are also present in the negotiation framework , and the only condition in it is that the Bulgarians be included in the country’s constitution.
“If we accept the changes in the constitution and Bulgaria vetoes us at all during the negotiations, it will not be because of history. If they don’t want us there (in the EU), they will find something else. Have you heard of any historical commissions around the world making progress? Find a European politician who has said that if the historical commission does not agree and we do not resolve the historical dispute, Europe should be forgotten,” said Pendarovski.
Asked about his statement that Gotse Delchev was a Bulgarian who fought for an independent Macedonia, Pendarovski stated that “this position for Gotse Delchev is the only possible one and the closest to the historical truth.”
“I’m not saying how he felt, but how he declared himself at a time when there was no Macedonian state. But is it a fact what he fought for? There is no historical data that Gotse Delchev fought for San Stefano Bulgaria or for the accession of Macedonia to Bulgaria, but he declared himself, as written in the documents. Where did he get his salary as a teacher,” said Pendarovski.
According to him, there was no progress in the joint historical commission because “except for one or two historians from the Bulgarian side” everyone behaved not as historians but as politicians in order to “please the Bulgarian politicians”.
“They want us to find the dark spots in our history, because it was communist, and they were the strongest communism in Europe at the time, after East Germany, Romania and Albania. Who is lecturing whom?” Pendarovski asked.
The address “where are you, love (love)” to Boyko Borisov, which in the election campaign in North Macedonia was used in VMRO-DPMNE videos against Pendarovski, he called propaganda, explaining how he wanted to address Borisov, during meeting in Sarajevo with the chorus of football fans “youths”, but because he saw that the Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Burnabic, was standing next to him, and with his “bad Bulgarian” he said “where are you, handsome”, and the propaganda turned it into “lovers”.
Pendarovski also spoke about his meeting with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, during his inauguration in 2019. Then Radev was the first president with whom Pendarovski met at the residence of the President of North Macedonia, Villa “Vodno”. According to his account, in the short A 20-minute meeting, which traditionally passes courteously, to his surprise, Radev “began with harsh criticism for the non-fulfillment of the agreement with Bulgaria”. He indicated that it should be implemented as North Macedonia implements the agreement with Greece, and Pendarovski explained that while the Prespa agreement is international, the one with Bulgaria is bilateral.
“Even then it became clear to me that he will be the main generator of the stumbling blocks in front of us,” Pendarovski pointed out.
In his interview, he pointed out that by delaying its membership in the EU, North Macedonia misses the opportunities to absorb funds from various European funds, and on the occasion of the expected results of the elections, which will be held on Wednesday, he stated that “the first election round for the president is only a warm-up for the second round, when it will be finally decided” who will be the president of the country in the coming years.