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OMO "Ilinden" - PIRIN, AMHRC, MHRMI Welcome Visit of United
Nations Independent Expert on Minority Issues to Bulgaria
7 July, 2011
Читај ја оваа страница на македонски
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Blagoevgrad, Melbourne, and Toronto - OMO "Ilinden"
PIRIN, the political party of the Macedonian minority in
Bulgaria, the Australian Macedonian Human Rights Committee
(AMHRC) and Macedonian Human Rights Movement International
(MHRMI) welcome this week's visit of the Independent Expert on
Minority Issues, Gay McDougall, to Bulgaria.
Today, the Independent Expert met with representatives of the
Macedonian minority in the country. The delegation comprised of:
Stojko Stojkov, Co-President of OMO "Ilinden" PIRIN and Stahil
Tupalski, Central Council Member of OMO "Ilinden" PIRIN; Stojan
Gerasimov from the Society of Repressed Macedonians; and Georgi
Hristov, the Chief Editor of the pro-Macedonian newspaper,
Narodna Volja.
The meeting gave the Macedonian organisations the opportunity to
provide the Independent Expert with a first hand, documented
account of the problems facing the Macedonian population in
Bulgaria. Many questions were asked by Ms McDougall who,
according to the Macedonian representatives, demonstrated a good
understanding of the issues facing the Macedonian minority.
On behalf of OMO "Ilinden" PIRIN, Stojko Stojkov presented the
Independent Expert with a report on the status of the Macedonian
minority in Bulgaria, as well as a document outlining the
irregularities carried out in the recent census together with
the text of the declaration issued by Macedonian organisations
in Bulgaria in which they announce that they will not recognise
the census results.
At present the Bulgarian state does not recognise the existence
of a distinct Macedonian ethnic group and has actively pursued
policies to suppress individuals and organisations expressing
such an identity. One such organisation is OMO "Ilinden" PIRIN,
a political party founded on 28 February 1998 and based in
south-west Bulgaria, in the Pirin region. On 29 February 2000
the Bulgarian Constitutional Court declared the party
unconstitutional and dissolved it. However in 2005 the European
Court of Human Rights ruled that the ban was in violation of the
European Convention on Human Rights and ordered the immediate
re-registration of the party. Since that judgement, the party
has tried on no less than three separate occasions to
reconstitute itself, however all applications have been rejected
by Bulgarian authorities. This denial of the right to freedom of
association has been noted by the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee
as well as several international human rights bodies such as the
Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation
in Europe and by the European Parliament.
AMHRC/MHRMI have consistently demanded that Bulgaria re-register
OMO "Ilinden" PIRIN and recognise the Macedonian minority in the
country. We have also repeatedly called on the international
community to ensure that Bulgaria fulfils its human right
commitments and in this connection, we hope that the visit of
the Independent Expert will lead to a change in the policy of
the Bulgarian government. Namely, Bulgaria must afford equal
recognition to Macedonians, and other minorities, in accordance
with international standards, such as the UN Declaration on the
Rights of Person belonging to Minorities and the Council of
Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National
Minorities.
At today's meeting, the Macedonian minority organisations
recommended, inter alia, to the Independent Expert that:
• Bulgaria officially recognise the existence of a distinct
Macedonian identity, Macedonian language and grant full
minority status to the Macedonians of Bulgaria.
• Bulgaria extends the legal scope of application of the
Framework Convention for the Protection for National
Minorities to also include the Macedonian minority.
• Bulgaria fully execute the judgement of the European Court
of Human Rights in the case of OMO "Ilinden" PIRIN and Others
against Bulgaria, judgment of 20/10/2005, final on 20/01/2006
and re-register OMO "Ilinden" PIRIN as required under the
European Convention on Human Rights.
• The Bulgarian government forms an independent commission to
investigate allegations of discrimination, harassment and
persecution of members of the Macedonian minority in
Bulgaria.
OMO "Ilinden" PIRIN, AMHRC and MHRMI demand that the Bulgarian
government engage constructively with the UN Independent Expert
and work with the Macedonian minority organizations to implement
the recommendations which will be presented to the UN Human
Rights Council by the end of the year.
###
OMO "Ilinden" PIRIN is a political party supporting the rights
of the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria. It has been banned since
2000, despite a 2005 European Court of Human Rights Judgement
ruling that the decision was a violation of the European
Convention on Human Rights. For more information please visit
www.omoilindenpirin.org.
Established in 1984 the Australian Macedonian Human Rights
Committee (AMHRC) is a non governmental organisation that
advocates before governments, international institutions and
broader communities about combating discrimination and promoting
basic human rights. Our aspiration is to ensure that Macedonian
communities and other excluded groups throughout the world are
recognised, respected and afforded equitable treatment. For more
information please visit
www.macedonianhr.org.au, or contact AMHRC by email
info@macedonianhr.org.au
or via +61 3 93298960.
Macedonian Human Rights Movement International (MHRMI) has been
active on human and national rights issues for Macedonians and
other oppressed peoples since 1986. For more information, please
visit
www.mhrmi.org, or contact MHRMI at 416-850-7125, or
info@mhrmi.org.
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