United Macedonian Organization Ilinden–Pirin
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United Macedonian Organisation: Ilinden–Pirin (Обединена македонска организация: Илинден–Пирин) is a Macedonian organisation in Bulgaria, whose self-declared aims are protection of the human rights, language and nationality of the Macedonian minority in the country. In Bulgaria itself the organization is regarded as a foreign government-funded separatist organization.
History[]
In 1999, the organisation was registered as a political party and took part in the municipal elections the same year. The party polled approximately 3,000 votes in the party's core region, Blagoevgrad Province, in line with the number of self-declared ethnic Macedonians in the region according to the Bulgarian census at the time (3,100 in 2001). The party received, however, almost no votes in the rest of the country.
On February 29, 2000, by decision of the Bulgarian Constitutional Court, UMO Ilinden–Pirin was expelled from the Bulgarian political system, as a separatist party. On November 25, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, condemned Bulgaria because of violations of the OMO Ilinden–Pirin's freedom of organising meetings.[1] The court stated that Bulgaria had violated Act 11 from the European Convention of Human Rights.[2]
On 26 June 2006, the party held a new founding meeting and provoked some controversy in the Bulgarian media. The meeting was held in the southwestern town of Gotse Delchev despite an IMRO-BNM protest demonstration. IMRO-BNM deputy accused the Macedonian government of sponsoring the party with €75,000 and called for the recall of the Macedonian ambassador . The party's leader, , called the party Bulgarian and not ethnically based.[3]
The program adopted at the party's founding in 2006 mentions ethnic non-Bulgarian groups in Bulgaria, while ethnic Bulgarians are mentioned only as representatives of "religious communities", "citizens" or communities of such.[4]The leader of the party, Stoyko Stoykov, under the pseudonym "Samuil Ratevski" has written materials denying the existence of the Bulgarian nation in historical and modern terms, which have also been published on Serbian nationalist websites.[5][6]Although the party presents the attitude towards Bulgarian citizens with Macedonian self-consciousness as "a legacy of the totalitarian regime",[7] the party does not want Decommunization in Bulgaria, unlike the "party DOST", which represents the interests of the Bulgarian Turks[8],no mention of official praise of the communist regime in North Macedonia,[9] honors as "national heroes" the communist partisans in Pirin Macedonia and communists born in Macedonia, who acted in other territories of Bulgaria such as Nikola Vaptsarov,[10] Kole Nedelkovski and others[11] and kept silent that in 1963 Todor Zhivkov returned to the pre-communist Bulgarian positions on the Macedonian question, adapted to the then nearly 20 years of nation-building in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia,[12] threatening the territorial integrity of Bulgaria because the Stalinist governments of Georgi Dimitrov, Vasil Kolarov and Valko Chervenkov used it forcibly on the territory of Pirin Macedonia , forcing its population with Bulgarian self-consciousness to enroll in the census as "Macedonian" by nationality, and to study Macedonian language and history.[13][14]
On July 30 Sofia's City Court confirmed the decision to deny registration; the arguments advanced by the court were, among others, that the necessary quorum of 530 signatures had not been reached and that there were many irregularities among those presented.[15]
UMO Ilinden–Pirin has been accepted as a full member of the European Free Alliance in April 2007.[citation needed]
Controversies[]
In November 2020, Atanas Kiryakov who is the OMO Ilinden mayoral candidate for the Bulgarian town of Blagoevgrad posted on his Facebook page two posts that were referencing the ethnic Macedonians welcoming the Army of North Macedonia, liberating the Blagoevgrad District, Bulgaria. This was perceived negatively in Bulgaria and was seen as promoting the weird idea of an invasion of Bulgaria by North Macedonia.[16]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ European Court Condemns Ban on Bulgarian Party Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Two ECHR judgments find Bulgaria violated freedom of assembly and association Archived August 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Interview with Miroslav Murdjov and Stojko Stojkov
- ^ Програма на ОМО „Илинден“ – ПИРИН Обединета македонска организација „Илинден“ – ПИРИН Партија за економски развој и интеграција на населението во Република Бугарија
- ^ Самоил Ратевски: Румуни кажу – БУГАРИ СУ СРБИ!
- ^ Отрицание на Отрицателите ДА ПОГЛЕДНЕМ ИСТИНАТА В ОЧИТЕ
- ^ Македония няма власт над българските граждани с македонско самосъзнание
- ^ ПОЛИТИЧЕСКА ПЛАТФОРМА ЗА 44-то НАРОДНО СЪБРАНИЕ НА ОБЕДИНЕНИЕ ДОСТ
- ^ Кметът на Скопие организира “историческа обиколка” в чест на югодиктатора Тито
- ^ Отрицание на отрицателите ДА ПОГЛЕДНЕМ ИСТИНАТА В ОЧИТЕ
- ^ С БАСНИ СРЕЩУ ИСТИНАТА, СЪС СТРАХ СРЕЩУ ПРАВОТО
- ^ От „интернационализъм“ към национализъм – част 1
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
маринов
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Телеграма от 27 декември 1946 г. за Разлог, Телеграма от 27 декември 1946 г. за Неврокоп
- ^ Bulgarian Court denies registration of UMO Ilinden–Pirin again
- ^ "OMO Ilinden Mayoral Candidate Posts Cryptic Posts About A Future Invasion of Bulgaria By North Macedonia – Bulgaria Business Insider". Retrieved 2020-11-19.
- Maknews: Interview with Stojko Stojkov, Co-President of the Five Member Executive of the OMO Pirin Political Party in Pirin Macedonia
- Maknews: Interview with Jordan Kostadinov, President of OMO Ilinden in Pirin Macedonia
- Maknews: Case of Stankov and the United Macedonian Organisation Ilinden v. Bulgaria
- "Skopje gave €75,000 to a Macedonian party of ours". Dneven Trud. 2006-06-26. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2006-06-26.
External links[]
- Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights
- Political parties in Bulgaria
- European Free Alliance
- Ethnic political parties