site.btaAt CoE Summit, Bulgarian VP Deplores Violations of Bulgarians’ Rights in North Macedonia

The systematic violation of the rights of Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia was presented by Vice President Iliana Iotova at the general debate of the 4th Council of Europe Summit in Reykjavik May 16-17, the President's press secretariat said Wednesday.

Iotova recalled a number of cases of aggression “against people because of their declared Bulgarian identity”, as well as “the adoption of a special law against associations”.

"The Republic of North Macedonia has blacklisted Bulgarians who are barred from entering the country. Among them, without any argument, is a Bulgarian MEP. This is a gross provocation to the common European values and to everything that builds our community - unity, solidarity, mutual respect. The most dangerous trend is the widespread hate speech against a neighbouring country, a member of the Council of Europe and the European Union," Iotova stressed.

The Vice President reaffirmed Bulgaria's support for Ukraine's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

She declared Bulgaria's support for the establishment of a Register of Damage for Russian crimes of aggression in Ukraine.

She signed the final declaration of the 4th Council of Europe Summit, which reaffirms the organization's principles of democracy and respect for human rights, supports Ukraine and focuses on Ukrainian children.

Iliana Iotova also took part in a roundtable on countering the new challenges to human rights, where she said that guaranteeing human rights cannot exist in documents only. "Any attempt to violate them must be met with a firm stance and strong action," she added.

Heads of state and government from 46 countries were in the Icelandic capital to reaffirm the unity of the Council of Europe around the common values that are at the core of the organization: democracy, rule of law, human rights.   

In the delegation led by the Vice President is the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Velislava Petrova.