site.btaPresident: It Is High Time North Macedonia Launched Effective Investigation into All Attacks against Bulgarians

It is high time that the Republic of North Macedonia launched an effective investigation and criminal prosecution of all attacks against Bulgarians there. This is the only way for the country to achieve European integration, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev told journalists on Tuesday. He was asked to comment on Monday's attack against journalist and doyen of the Bulgarian community in North Macedonia Vladimir Perev in Skopje. 

"I have made it very clear to both the President and the Prime Minister [of North Macedonia] that the case of Vladimir Perev is a good reason to finally start this process, because both the motive and the perpetrator are clear," the head of State added.

On Monday, Perev said in a publication on the Tribuna website that he had been verbally and physically attacked in a shop in Skopje. Perev, who is 80 years old, was struck in the face; his glasses were broken. He reported the incident to the police. Reacting to the case, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry condemned "yet another act of hate violence against a Bulgarian in the Republic of North Macedonia – a phenomenon that is unfortunately fuelled by the current socio-political atmosphere and anti-Bulgarian rhetoric."