TISP Leader Slavi Trifonov: North Macedonia's Court Sentence against Ljupcho Georgievski Is Yet Another Political Anti-Bulgarian Repression

Slavi Trifonov, leader of "There Is Such a People," with a sharp response following the suspended sentence of Ljupcho Georgievski (former chairman of the now-dissolved Ivan Mihaylov Cultural Club), handed down by the court in Bitola. According to Trifonov, the court sentence is "yet another political anti-Bulgarian repression" in the Republic of North Macedonia.

“Yesterday, the court in Bitola handed a one-year suspended sentence to the Bulgarian Lyupcho Georgievski, chairman of the Ivan Mihaylov Cultural Club, for xenophobia, racism, and incitement to racial hatred through electronic publications quoting Ivan Mihaylov and for staging the play ‘Macedonian Bloody Wedding’ by Vojdan Chernodrinski.

The authorities in North Macedonia were allegedly offended that, during the performance, lecturers referred to the author as a Bulgarian National Revival figure and stated that the play is part of Bulgarian cultural heritage and symbolises the struggles and aspirations of the Bulgarian people for freedom.

Let me clarify something for the North Macedonian authorities: Vojdan Chernodrinski was a Bulgarian revivalist, playwright, theatre figure, and writer. The Macedonian Blood Wedding play is part of Bulgarian cultural heritage and an embodiment of the struggles and strive for freedom of the Bulgarians. For your freedom! Because, until the decision of the Comintern, you did not exist even as an idea of a nationality or a language. This is the simple historical truth. And your pathetic court with its pathetic verdict cannot change that. Third, Ivan Mihaylov, or Vanche Mihaylov as he is known, was one of the most outstanding figures of the Bulgarian national liberation movement in Macedonia, a long-time leader of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization," the TISP leader's post reads.

"This latest political anti-Bulgarian and, in a sense, complex repression, only proves how right I was when I overthrew that harmful government of Kiril Petkov. Because you (North Macedonia) are neither ready, nor deserving, nor worthy of being called Europeans,"

And finally, let me paraphrase the words of the very Bulgarian you sentenced—Ljupcho Georgievski - you are not bothered by the name of the Ivan Mihaylov association, but by the Macedonian Bulgarians. It bothers you that they exist, that they are a reality. But reality, dear North Macedonian rulers, is one such thing, which does not care about your feelings, fears and complexes. Reality exists—and it is truth. And as far as I’m concerned, if you continue behaving this way, the only EU you’ll see will be through a ‘bent macaroni’—made in Bulgaria!," Trifonov's position reads.

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A court in Bitola on June 12 handed a one-year suspended sentence with a two-year probation period to Ljupcho Georgievski, former chair of the now-dissolved Ivan Mihaylov Cultural Club.

Georgievski was convicted of inciting xenophobia, racism, and ethnic hatred through electronic means after publishing quotes by the controversial historical figure Ivan Mihaylov on the club’s Facebook page.

The verdict, issued by the Basic Court in Bitola, was received electronically on Wednesday and spans 22 pages, Georgievski’s lawyer, Naser Raufi, said. The defence has eight days to file an appeal before the Bitola Court of Appeals.

Speaking on BNT's programme "The Day Begins" on June 13, he described his sentence as a political message from the Macedonian state to all those who identify themselves as Bulgarians.

“I see the sentence as a sign of the work we’ve been doing for years — a recognition of everything we’ve done to affirm Bulgarian identity in Macedonia. This verdict carries no legal weight for me; it holds symbolic significance. It is a political message, directed not just at me, but at all Bulgarians and at anyone who publicly identifies as Bulgarian.

I have not incited violence, nor have I insulted anyone’s dignity. My only ‘offense’ is that I openly identify as Bulgarian and honor the memory and legacy of a great Bulgarian — Ivan Mihaylov.”