Rumen Radev: The Presidential Institution Was the First to Receive Ljupcho Georgievski During a Time of Repression

The presidential institution was the first in Bulgaria to welcome Ljupcho Georgievski and his associates during the latest wave of repression—when Bulgarian cultural centers were being shot at, set on fire, and their activists brutally beaten—while the very same court failed to initiate any justified proceedings against the obvious perpetrators. This, President Rumen Radev said during a meeting with Ljupcho Georgievski, chairman of the dissolved Bulgarian cultural club “Ivan Mihaylov” in Bitola, is a clear indication of the tolerant silence of the authorities in the Republic of North Macedonia toward anti-Bulgarian actions.

"The position of my support to Ljupcho Georgievski remains unchanged as the position of the institution that was the first to raise the issue of the rights of Bulgarians in North Macedonia—an institution that brought this issue before our European partners and institutions; that advocated for the inclusion of Bulgarians in the Constitution of North Macedonia as a founding nation, as a clear and essential condition for the start of EU accession negotiations—and that defended this position until it was enshrined in the negotiation framework,” President Radev stressed.

A few days ago, Georgievski received a suspended sentence from the Bitola court in a case concerning xenophobia, racism, and incitement to racial hatred online, based on quotes by Ivan Mihaylov shared on the association’s Facebook page.

Later today, Ljupcho Georgievski is scheduled to be heard by the Parliamentary Committee on European Affairs and Oversight of European Funds.

Bulgaria Views the Case Against Ljupcho Georgievski as a Politically Motivated Trial, Foreign Minister Says