site.btaPresident Pendarovski: The Inclusion of Bulgarians in the Constitution in No Way Destroys Macedonian Identity
In his annual address to Parliament Thursday, the President of the Republic of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski, spoke about the need of having a clear legal and political procedure for changing the Constitution to include in it Bulgarians along with parts of other nations.
In his words, no one should pressure or condition MPs to vote against their will as a constitutional change is put to a vote, but all MPs "should be aware of two things: first, that the very content of the specific proposal, the inclusion of Bulgarians and parts of other nations in the Constitution, in no way destroys the Macedonian identity, and, second, those who are against it today, if they really believe that the EU is our strategic goal, our strategic constant since 1991 until today, and if they are against it today, how will they vote for this constitutional change when they are in power?
"The modified French proposal, which divided us unprecedentedly, caused numerous controversies, but all of them were directly or indirectly related to the fear of an identity threat for the Macedonians and the Macedonian language. Referring to the thesis that only as Bulgarians we can enter the Union, I want to stress that there is absolutely no way to turn a Macedonian into a Bulgarian. These are two different identity codes, two different peoples with their own specific ethno-genesis. There is no such example in history that the national feeling of an entire nation was changed by an agreement," said the President.
He argued that that protests which the opposition organized last summer, created "an atmosphere of fierce political tensions" and "a perception among part of the public that this is a fateful dilemma to be or not for the nation and the state and that we are supposedly making a decision that will define the fate of the future generations of Macedonians and Macedonian citizens."
"Five months later, I am deeply convinced that the position I expressed on July 3 this year that the decision to accept the modified French proposal is neither a historic triumph nor a historic debacle, and can withstand reasoned criticism today. […] At the same time, I refuse to believe that the political goal or priority of the president of the French Republic or, for example, the German Chancellor, is to disfigure the Macedonian nation and bring us into Europe as Bulgarians," Pendarovski said.
He went on to argue that the obligation to change the Constitution is not related to the opening of Bulgarian clubs in North Macedonia, "yet, the impression remains that it is a timed and organized activity that does not contribute to building trust between Skopje and Sofia". "With the tensions raised by the opening of these clubs, unfortunately, the other side has chosen a confrontational rather than a cooperative approach that is fully in line with the public rhetoric of the Bulgarian historians in the Joint Commission who insist that history dominates the entire bilateral agenda, rather than being just one segment thereof," he said.
Pendarovski says it is a fact that there is no systemic violation of the rights of the Bulgarian minority and Skopje should not limit their ability to open clubs "where they want and as much as they want, but with strict respect for the Macedonian laws that are compatible with the European ones".
As for the opposition's demands for guarantees that the change in the Constitution to include Bulgarians in it will be the last request to Skopje in the negotiation process, he used an analogy with the Schengen bid of Bulgaria and Romania. "Bulgaria and Romania have been members of the Union for 15 years and were recently blocked from entering the Schengen area. If 2 members of the Union were blocked from entering one of the most important projects of the single European space, it goes without saying that no one can give guarantees to a candidate country that has just started negotiations that are not straightforward."
Pendarovski argues that the government must make efforts during the entire course of negotiations to include experts proposed by civil society organizations, as well as by the opposition, in the teams because the negotiations will certainly exceed the mandate of one government, and because "if we do not gather all the creative and expert potential [of the country] in one place, the negotiations will last longer".
/DD/
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