site.btaProtest over Court Sentence against Ljupcho Georgievski Staged in Front of North Macedonia's Embassy in Sofia

A protest was held in front of the Embassy of the Republic of North Macedonia in Sofia on Sunday over the suspended sentence handed down June 12 by a court in Bitola against Ljupcho Georgievski, a prominent representative of the Bulgarian community and former head of the now-closed Ivan Mihaylov Cultural Club. The protest was organized by the VMRO party.

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

Sunday's protest is peaceful and is in defense of the rights and interests of Bulgarians in North Macedonia, said Kaloyan Hristov, a member of the VMRO youth organization. Recently, representatives of the community have been attacked, he said, recalling the incident in which Hristijan Pendikov was beaten and the sentence for Georgievski.

The protesters demanded inspections of companies in Bulgaria that are owned by power holders in North Macedonia.

VMRO leader Krassimir Karakachanov, who also took part in the protest, told journalists that while the Government of Hristijan Mickoski is in power in North Macedonia, Bulgaria should state clearly that the next anti-Bulgarian act will be met with a veto. It is high time the Bulgarian State took  its role more firmly, he added. The Bulgarian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister cannot continue to remain silent and issue general positions. In Karakachanov's words, everyone conducting an anti-Bulgarian policy are proxies of Belgrade. 

"All prosecutors, judges and others who participate in this anti-Bulgarian campaign should have their citizenship revoked," Karakachanov said further. "All those who spit on Bulgaria, but take advantage of our country as a European country, should be sanctioned, their companies should be checked, because politicians in Skopje only understand this, they do not understand the language of good will and good intentions," Karakachanov argued. According to him, when today's rulers in Skopje see that Bulgaria is behaving diplomatically, they are encouraged and consider it a weakness. 

Angel Dzhambazki, former MEP of VMRO, said that until there are people violating the law and the EU rules, they should be sanctioned. It is time for the Bulgarian government to impose sanctions on those politicians and members of the Judiciary in Skopje who are making this aggression. In his words, the verdict is not only against Georgievski, he is the "sacrificial lamb" and the verdict is a threat to all other Bulgarians. They want to make them shut up, to emigrate, to be scared, to stop claiming to be Bulgarians, Dzhambazki said.

Dzhambazki also noted that Georgievski was convicted for expressing his opinion and for quoting Ivan Mihaylov's words. "What about the Declaration of Human Rights which North Macedonia has signed?" he asked.