The Macedonian Minority in Bulgaria

[Liberator of Makedonija]

Hello, can someone clarify the exact origins of the Bulgarians please? I know Russia had a big hand in the creation of the Bulgarian nation in the late 19th century but that's about all I know.

[Liberator of Makedonija]

You have provided some excellent information here Karposh. I never knew that Macedonians had such a profound impact in Bulgaria, might explain why the government carried out a policy of ethnic cleansing against us, not only in Pirin but in all of Bulgaria.

[Karposh]

When Dimitar Blagoev made his famous “I am not a Bulgarian, I am a Macedonian, a Macedonian Slav” declaration in the Bulgarian parliament, the significance of his statement, coming as it did at a time when Macedonia had just been partitioned and the Macedonians subjected to cultural genocide by their “heroic” Christian Orthodox brothers, can’t be overstated enough.

In 1917, Blagoev was just another Macedonian amongst hundreds of thousands of other Macedonians who arrived in Bulgaria in two main waves. The first wave of Macedonian emigration occurred decades earlier, when they arrived as economic migrants while, at the same time, escaping the misery that was the Ottoman Empire. The second wave occurred during the terrible events of 1912/1913. To me, Blagoev is representative of most Macedonians in Bulgaria at that time. But there is nothing unique about his sense of Macedonian identity. Most Macedonians in Bulgaria would have shared his sentiments.

With no Macedonia to call their home, Macedonians had chosen the lesser of the three evils that surrounded them to escape to. But in essence they remained Macedonians and not for a single moment did they consider themselves to be Bulgarians. The documents of the time always speak of Macedonians in Bulgaria and never Bulgarian refugees from Macedonia.

There has always been the term Macedonians to describe the people hailing from the territory of Macedonia that chose to live in Bulgaria. However, I have yet to see or hear of any credible evidence to suggest that Bulgarians also refer (or have referred) to themselves regionally as Moesians, Eastern Rumelians or Thracians. Bulgarians want to convince people of the geographic/regional nature of the term “Macedonian”. They want people everywhere to believe that it is no different to Bulgarians feeling local regional pride in hailing from Eastern Rumelia, Moesia or Thrace (whatever it is that “Thrace” means and encompasses in the Bulgarian mind). Fact is, if a Bulgarian feels that he or she is Bulgarian then they will tell you as much. It doesn’t matter what region of Bulgaria they are from, they are Bulgarian. No Bulgarian ever says they are Eastern Rumelian, Moesian or Thracian. That is utter nonsense…But they will tell you they are Macedonian.

No one knows exactly how many Macedonians settled in Bulgaria over the last two or so centuries and how many there are today with origins from Macedonia. Well over half (if not more) of the total population of Bulgaria might well have ancestral links to Macedonia. How many of these actually feel themselves to be Macedonian is impossible to say.
It has been well documented that disgruntled Bulgarian contemporaries of the time resented the fact that the newly arrived Macedonians were competing with them for local jobs. Much of the following information is taken from Macedonian Wikipedia and I will make an attempt to translate for our non-Macedonian members of this forum.

About 430 (33%) from a total of 1,289 Officers were from Macedonia. 15,000 (43%) from 35,000 public servants originated from Macedonia, while 1,262 (37%) from 3,412 Exarchate priests were from Macedonia. “The Bulgarian by birth is in conflict with the Macedonian who is competing for his services”. Quote is referenced in Macedonian Wikipedia.

The Macedonian question in Bulgaria was not only political but economic. Because of this Bulgarians appealed for the Macedonians to be given reforms, autonomy, a monarchy or a republic, it didn’t matter, as long as they returned back to their own land. They were “the united cries of all Bulgarian parties”. Quote is referenced in Macedonian Wikipedia.

A good insight of the Macedonians’ place and role in Bulgaria is given by the following account. A certain Bulgarian merchant from Solun, Atanas Shopov is discussing the Macedonians with the Salonika Valiya, Hasan-Fehmi Pasha in the beginning of 1904, when the Valiya asks Shopov “if the Macedonians are still causing trouble in Bulgaria” to which Shopov replies “ How can they not cause trouble pasha effendi when the bigger part of the Macedonian population is in Bulgaria, the greater portion of the population of Sofia is Macedonian, a big portion of the officers in the army are Macedonians, a big part of the esteemed establishment are Macedonians and, the whole Macedonian intelligentsia from Macedonia is in Bulgaria. Even the crowds in the streets are Macedonian”.

When the Turkish Valiya tells Shopov that it sounds like the Macedonians have contributed important services for the Bulgarian people, Shopov responds: “Not only for the Bulgarian people but for the Greek people too…during the Greek rebellion. As you can see pasha effendi the role Macedonians have always played in the life of the Bulgarian people. They play an even bigger role now. We have even more reason than you to be aggrieved by the Macedonians because they have taken over our hold on power, they have taken our best positions and services, they have taken over our finances and cities, they have taken over our army and ministries, they have taken over our trade, they have taken over just about everything in Bulgaria…Save us from them in the name of God”

Quotes of this discussion between the Turkish Valiya from Solun and Shopov are referenced in Macedonian Wikipedia.

And then we have this gem, a recorded discussion from 1899 between two Macedonian activists in Bulgaria Kosta Shahov (from Ohrid) and Andrey Lyapchev (from Resen):
“But don’t you believe for one minute that the revolutionaries are working towards an autonomous Macedonia that would, in the end, be incorporated into Bulgaria. God Forbid! That will never be…All of us Macedonians, no matter where we are, no matter how educated we are, none will allow Macedonia to be incorporated into any other…Instead, we will work towards incorporating other provinces to her. We, the intelligentsia, were educated by the Russians, Romanians, Serbs and Bulgarians…However, none of us will become slaves to any of these and at any cost. Instead, they will immediately go to their own flock, as we too have done…We have a glorious element, and our people is resilient. And once Macedonia gains autonomy, then Bulgaria will sooner become Macedonian rather than Macedonia – Bulgarian. We have a real chance for that to occur…In Bulgaria, the highest positions are held by Macedonians…Without question, when the time comes, today’s notables, Macedonian by nationality, will come over to us and Bulgaria will be Macedonian…We believe this will be so sooner or later…Macedonia will be a state (Republican) and she will look towards drawing other states in a union as cantons and, that way, she will be a powerful country”. That was a quote by Kosta Shahov which is referenced in Macedonian Wikipedia.

Here is another Kosta Shahov quote, just another Macedonian in Bulgaria. In the newspaper “Makedonija” (#4, Ruse, 11/11/1888), the then 26 year old editor of the paper, Kosta Shahov writes: “Our fatherland Macedonia has her own history about her past, where one can see her might, glory, as well as her political subjugation under the rule of the then mighty Turkish Empire…Today, every Macedonian, when he mentions the name Aleksandar Makedonski, says: We once had King Alexander the Great. With those words he reminds oneself of the brightest period and glory of the Macedonian State. Aleksandar Makedonski stands before every Macedonian as national pride.”

This has been a lengthy post, I know, but there is much to say about that period. Finally, I want to wish everyone on this forum a very Happy Orthodox Easter and God bless. And now I’m off to Rockdale for midnight mass.

[Liberator of Makedonija]

Dimitar Blagoev, who was he?

I have recently begun looking into the Bulgarian politician Dimitar Blagoev of which Blagoevgrad (Gorna Dzumaja) and the surrounding province (Pirin Macedonia) are named after. He was born in the Kosturski village of Zagorichani in Aegean Macedonia in 1856. He was a prominant socialist in Bulgarian politics and was the founder of the Socialist Party. He supported the creation of a communist Balkan Federation and in front of the Bulgarian parliament in 1917, declared himself a "Macedonian Slav" and apparently saw the creation of a Balkan Federation as the only way to assure Macedonian freedom. He allegedly also stated he was not Bulgarian but Macedonian and that his village was a famous Macedonian one. The information on Dimitar is quite conflicting and confusing, so I have begun this thread to discuss and share information on him so that a clearer image may be painted. I have included links to some sources I looked at also:

https://archive.is/20130630024606/my.opera.com/ancientmacedonia/blog/show.dml/1212234

http://www.protobulgarians.com/Saavremennti%20temi/Dimitaar%20Blagoev%20-%20Dyadoto.htm

[vicsinad]

"Okay, okay...we won't insist on joint holiday celebrations if you stop claiming there are Macedonians in Bulgaria."

Great negotiation.

[Volokin]

Skopje. Expert teams of the Bulgarian and Macedonian foreign ministries have negotiated the final text of the proposed agreement on good neighbourly relations, Macedonian online news edition Telegraf comments.
According to it, it is expected the document will be signed in a short time. Unnamed sources said the content of the agreement was familiar and both sides agreed to making certain concessions during the talks. According to unofficial information, Bulgaria will not insist on joint marking of historical dates, such as the Ilinden Uprising, and each of the countries will decide when to invite a delegation from the other. The only date, the joint marking of which has led to no dilemmas, is Saints Cyril and Methodius' Day. The concession Macedonia granted is that the agreement will not mention the OMO “Ilinden“ organisation and a Macedonian minority. The OMO “Ilinden“ – PIRIN organisation stated it [the agreement] was harmful to Macedonia and should not be signed as Skopje would thus agree there was no Macedonian minority in Bulgaria. According to Svetoslav Terziev, political analyst from Sofia, it is important both countries ink the agreement as soon as possible as it is clear Bulgaria would not like to place obstacles along Macedonia’s road to EU membership. Telegraf writes after all items are agreed, it is expected the document will be signed by the Presidents or foreign ministers of the two countries.

http://www.focus-fen.net/news/2015/02/23/364097/telegraf-working-groups-of-bulgaria-macedonia-negotiate-text-of-agreement-on-good-neighbourly-relations.html

Skopje. The European Commission sent an “indecent answer” to the European Free Alliance on the question concerning the problems of the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria. The Commission reported it was familiar with the problems, but it was unable to solve them, commented the Macedonian electronic edition MKD.
In other words, the EC told the Macedonians that live in this EU member-state: “there is nothing we can do”, pointed the edition. The European Free Alliance sent a request letter to the EC in October last year, concerning the registration of OMO Ilinden PIRIN.
This political party represents the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria and it was forbidden in 2000 by the Constitutional Court. The ban is still valid today, despite the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasburg, the edition further commented.

http://www.focus-fen.net/news/2015/02/06/362499/mkd-macedonia-ec-announced-it-cannot-aid-the-registration-of-omo-ilinden-pirin.html

[vicsinad]

"Stop the Serbian assimilation of Macedonia).

...and replace it with Bulgarian assimilation!

[VMRO]

Why is he still around?

I was watching the Macedonian news last night and they had Ljubco on channel 22 News.

Apparently he (Narodna Partija) is linked to to billboards popping up in Macedonia which read "Stop the Serbian assimilation of Macedonia).

http://www.rtv.rs/sr_ci/region/antisrpski-bilbordi-u-skoplju_564635.html

[vicsinad]

Signed by none other than Ljubčo Georgievski.

Why is he still around?

[Momce Makedonce]

http://www.focus-fen.net/news/2015/0...-bulgaria.html

http://www.focus-fen.net/news/2015/01/28/361525/vecer-text-of-agreement-on-good-neighbourly-relations-between-bulgaria-macedonia-coordinated-at-95.html

A copy of the 1999 Declaration can be found here: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Joint_..._February_1999



Signed by none other than Ljubčo Georgievski.

___________

The question beckons. Why is Macedonian dealing with a country that negates the existence of the Macedonia people and language, let-alone the Macedonians without basic rights as a minority in the Pirin.

How do these high ranking politicians sleep at night knowing that are destroying the Macedonian cause bit by bit?

It baffles me how supposed "Macedonian Nationalists" are so oblivious to the clear ulterior motives of countries such as Bulgaria and Greece.

Some Macedonians are the most stupid, ignorant and gullible people I have ever seen.

Joint celebration of Illinden and our Saints ? Lele what a joke...

When will Macedonia and Macedonians stop bowing down and obeying countries/people that have bitterly oppressed us in the past and present?

[Volokin]

OMO Ilinden-Pirin against neighbourly agreement with Bulgaria

Skopje. OMO Ilinden-Pirin will send a letter to the Foreign Ministry of Macedonia asking the government not to accept the neighbourly agreement with Bulgaria, Macedonian online news edition Telegraf reported.
According to OMO Ilinden-Pirin, the agreement is not good and affects their rights.
“The Bulgarian authorities want to make Macedonia give up on taking care of the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria and we want to open their eyes with this initiative,” OMO Ilinden-Pirin says.
“We find the agreement unacceptable. By signing it Macedonia will confirm that there is no Macedonian minority in Bulgaria. This will ruin our fight, which has been underway for decades,” the official position of OMO Ilinden-Pirin writes further.
The highest criticism goes for the idea for joint marking of the Ilinden Uprising, Saints Cyril and Methodius and Saint Clement.

http://www.focus-fen.net/news/2015/02/02/362013/telegraf-macedonia-omo-ilinden-pirin-against-neighbourly-agreement-with-bulgaria.html

Vecer: Text of agreement on good neighbourly relations between Bulgaria, Macedonia coordinated at 95%

28 January 2015 | 09:35 | FOCUS News Agency
Vecer: Text of agreement on good neighbourly relations between Bulgaria, Macedonia coordinated at 95%Source: Focus Information AgencySkopje. Text of the agreement on good neighbourly relations Bulgaria and Macedonia are expected to ink has coordinated at 95%, Macedonian Vecer daily writes, citing unnamed diplomatic sources.
According to the edition, after long tension and complications the Bulgarian representatives requested the declaration signed in 1999, which rules out any hostile deeds or intentions, serves as a basis for the agreement. This proposal was approved by the Macedonian side and discussed by the working groups. The groups are to meet in February over the rest of open issues, after which there will be meetings at a political level.
The Munich Security Conference, due to be held from February 6 to February 8, offers the first such opportunity and it is to be attended by the Presidents of both countries – Bulgaria’s Rosen Plevneliev and Macedonia’s Gjorge Ivanov. Mr Ivanov’s office said a meeting between the two Heads of State was not ruled out and the agreement on good neighbourly relations would be one of the topics of talks.

http://www.focus-fen.net/news/2015/01/28/361525/vecer-text-of-agreement-on-good-neighbourly-relations-between-bulgaria-macedonia-coordinated-at-95.html

A copy of the 1999 Declaration can be found here: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Joint_..._February_1999

The Republic of Macedonia hereby declares that nothing in
its Constitution can or should be interpreted as constituting, now or
whenever in the future, a basis for interference in the internal affairs
of the Republic of Bulgaria for the purpose of defending the status
and the rights of persons who are not citizens of the Republic of
Macedonia.


The two countries shall undertake effective measures for
preventing ill-intentioned propaganda by institutions and agencies
and shall not allow activities by private individuals aimed at instigating
violence, hatred or other such actions which might harm relations
between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia.

Signed by none other than Ljubčo Georgievski.

___________

The question beckons. Why is Macedonian dealing with a country that negates the existence of the Macedonia people and language, let-alone the Macedonians without basic rights as a minority in the Pirin.

How do these high ranking politicians sleep at night knowing that are destroying the Macedonian cause bit by bit?

It baffles me how supposed "Macedonian Nationalists" are so oblivious to the clear ulterior motives of countries such as Bulgaria and Greece.

[George S.]

We hear all sorts of reports that the bulgarian govt is not honoring a lot of their promises.The omo ilinden members are subjected to terror tactics and beatings regularly.The bulgarian govt was in the past preventing freedom by association.So we have heard many things but in the end will the govt honor any of them.The people aren't given their basic human rights.

[Брсјак]

http://iris.mk/index.php/vesti/lokalnivesti/11577-2014-12-12-15-39-54

http://www.omoilindenpirin.org/news/2014/december02_b.asp

Претседателот на ОМО Илинден Пирин, Стојко Стојков, кој 24 години бара бугарските власти да ја регистрира неговата политичка партија, вели дека последната одлука на Совет на министри на ЕУ е оптимистичка за Македонците во Пиринска Македонија.

[George S.]

Mscedonians who take on bulgarian citizenship.SRe they really macedonians or bulgarofiles deep down.

[VMRO]

Bulgaria: Passports Issued to Macedonians to Be Checked First

http://www.independent.mk/articles/10655/Bulgaria+Passports+Issued+to+Macedonians+to+Be+Checked+First

Bulgaria: Passports Issued to Macedonians to Be Checked First According to estimates, about 50,000 Macedonian citizens have obtained Bulgarian passport so far. Photo: bulgarianbusinesslawyer.com
The resignation of the second person of the State Agency of Bulgarians Abroad, Iva Yordanova, is directly related to the manipulations that were made in the issuance of Bulgarian passports, many of which were for Macedonian citizens, Telegraf.mk reports.

People involved in the "passports business" revealed that the alarm was turned on regarding the facilitated procedure for issuance of Bulgarian passports exactly because of people from Macedonia. Unofficially, about 1,000 passports issued in year and a half are disputed, and Sofia authorities still do not know what will be their fate i.e. whether they will be canceled.


“The people who obtained Bulgarian passports through me or the people whose passport procedures are underway are calling to ask me if their passport will also be checked. I do not know what to answer. The partner from Sofia I collaborate with warned me not to receive new requests until this new situation clears,” says one of the intermediaries who work exclusively with Bulgarian passports in the last ten years.

According to estimates, about 50,000 Macedonian citizens have obtained Bulgarian passport so far. The procedure costs about EUR 1,000 out of which EUR 500 go for the intermediary and the rest of the money are for preparation of all necessary documents for application.

One of the most common manipulations that are done is that the interested “clients” did not submitted any document to prove that they or any of their ancestors are of Bulgarian origin. Moreover, many of the applicants did not speak Bulgarian language at the checks they had, which is one of the conditions.

The turbulences in the State Agency of Bulgarians Abroad is nowadays a hot topic in the Bulgarian media. BTV News writes that the caretaker Prime Minister of Bulgaria Georgi Bliznashki ordered for all applications from 201 to 2013 with suspected violation in procedures to be checked.





"Bulgarian prosecutors announced in February they would thoroughly check the Agency’s work. Audit is necessary of the functions at the Agency that does not fulfill effective enough the Bulgarian state policy for the Bulgarians abroad. The report will be prepared and handed over to the Prime Minister and the competent Deputy Prime Minister by October 30. The review will also include the work of the Agency in 2014,” BTV News writes.

Telegraf.mk contacted Wednesday the State Agency of Bulgarians Abroad but they did not want to comment whether there are Macedonian citizens between the suspicious passport applicants.

“The procedure of checking upon the request from the Citizenship Council is ongoing, and we do not want to further comment until it is finished,” the Agency responded.

Although the demand is reduced compared to previous years, Bulgarian passport is still attractive because of the possibility to work in the Schengen zone countries. Since the beginning of the year, Bulgarian passport owners are allowed to work in the UK and Ireland, which was not possible previously.