There is systematic racial and ethnic violence and discrimination against Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia. This is stated in the State Department's report on human rights in 2023 in our south-western neighbour, BGNES reported.
The document refers to the beatings and serious injuries inflicted on a Macedonian citizen who identifies himself as Bulgarian, as well as the closure of Bulgarian cultural clubs.
"The Secretary of Justice is closing the Tsar Boris III and Ivan (Vancho) Mihailov Bulgarian Cultural Clubs, citing a 2022 law," the State Department report said.
"In February, and on the recommendation of the Commission for Protection against Discrimination, the prosecutor's office in Bitola opened a preliminary investigation into the Ivan (Vanko) Mihailov club on hate speech grounds. The president of the club is accused of inciting ethnic and racial hatred and intolerance and spreading racism and xenophobia," the document reads.
It also states that "two persons have been charged with causing grievous bodily harm to Christian Pendikov, who identified himself as Bulgarian, on the basis of national and ethnic hatred." /BGNES
