Today, September 8, North Macedonia celebrates 32 years since the proclamation of the independence of the republic, reported BGNES.
On this date in 1991, a referendum was held in the former Yugoslav Republic, in which more than 96% of those who voted voted for the creation of an independent state. The question of the referendum read: "Are you for the sovereign and independent state of Macedonia, with the right to join a future union of the sovereign states of Yugoslavia?". Thus presented, the poll left Skopje's door open to Belgrade's powerful influence in the coming decades.
Previously, on January 25, the Macedonian Parliament adopted a Declaration of Independence. Independence was formally declared on September 18, 1991, when the parliament adopted a Declaration of Independence based on the results of the referendum. The new Constitution of the then Republic of Macedonia was adopted on November 17 of the same year. Part of the Albanian ethnic community refused to participate in the referendum and support the new constitution of the young country. Ten years later, Albanians supported the constitutional changes that were achieved after the armed conflict of spring 2001.
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For over 30 years, Bulgaria has been a guarantor of the independence of its southwestern neighbor and its sincere friend and ally. The Bulgarian president Zhelio Zhelev /1990-1997/ has huge merits in this process.
On January 15, 1992, Bulgaria was the first country in the world to unconditionally recognize the Republic of Macedonia under its constitutional name. Threats and economic looting by Yugoslav dictator Slobodan Milosevic followed. The looting carried out by the retreating Yugoslav army ranged from barracks sinks to Macedonian properties in the former Yugoslavia and the Skopje airport radar.
Thanks to the efforts of President Zelev and his personal talks with the then Turkish leader, President Süleyman Demirel, Turkey secondly recognized the Republic of Macedonia. Bulgaria did everything possible to ensure that Moscow and Washington would do the same. Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin was persuaded by Zhelev to recognize Macedonia's independence during his 20-hour stay in Sofia. Yeltsin sent the decree minutes after taking off from the airport in the Bulgarian capital. With the active foreign policy of the Bulgarian head of state, the United States also recognized the independence of the Republic of Macedonia during the tenure of George Bush Sr.
On April 8, 1993, the UN General Assembly accepted Macedonia as the 181st full member of the World Organization. Due to the opposition of Greece, the country was accepted as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. In February 1994, Athens imposed a heavy and painful embargo on Macedonia. Thanks to Bulgaria, Skopje received petroleum products and all kinds of other goods. The largest "Macedonian" port at that time was the Bulgarian Black Sea city of Burgas.
Bulgaria prevented the breakup of Macedonia according to the plan of Milosevic and the former Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis. At that time, President Zhelev refused to participate in the planned tripartite meeting and thwarted attempts at a brutal partition.
When 300,000 Kosovo Albanians were deported to Macedonia in the spring of 1999 by the Milosevic regime, Bulgaria selflessly supported one of the largest refugee camps not far from Skopje - Radusa. During this period, Sofia conducted an active policy to prevent the destabilization of Macedonia.
During the internal conflict of 2001, Bulgaria gave its neighbor dozens of tanks, howitzers and a large amount of other equipment.
In the recent history of bilateral relations, Bulgaria played a central role in bringing its western neighbor out of international isolation after the fall of the regime of Nikola Gruevski, the then leader of VMRO-DPMNE. Just a few months later, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov signed a Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation with the then Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev. This treaty opened the door to resolve the dispute over the name "Macedonia" between Athens and Skopje with the signing of the Treaty of Prespa, and later the Republic of North Macedonia joined NATO.
At the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Bulgarian diplomacy throughout Europe continuously provided full assistance to Macedonian citizens for their return home. Thousands returned to North Macedonia, thanks to unconditional Bulgarian aid.
In the following years, the European Union approved the Negotiating Framework for the opening of negotiations for North Macedonia's membership in the bloc. The framework, commonly known as the "French proposal", was ratified by the parliaments of both countries, but the governments of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia /SDSM/, and today of VMRO-DPMNE, and the parliament in Skopje refused to implement the agreements. Macedonian politicians established a self-blockade on the European road, but Bulgaria continues to be a friend and ally, guarantor of the independence, territorial integrity and future of North Macedonia in the EU. | BGNES
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