Let’s stop discrimination and torture against people with Bulgarian self-consciousness in FYROM

PRESS-RELEASE
Peaceful Citizen’s Protest in Support of Spaska Mitrova

ibox.bg

The Citizens' Initiative Committee “Spaska Mitrova” is organising a peaceful, non-partisan, civil protest in support of Ms. Spaska Mitrova (an academic graduate who holds both
Bulgarian and Macedonian citizenships), jailed behind the bars of the infamous communist prison “Idrizovo”, near Skopje, because of her Bulgarian self-consciousness. This protest is born of the dismay of free Bulgarians and Europeans from both the Republic of Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). The draconian middle-age sentence of the 23 year-old mother of a little child brings back horrible old-gone times and methods, which the democratic World endeavours to forget. We insist for Spaska’s immediate release as well as for public apologies and compensations on behalf of the Macedonian authorities for their ill-minded reading of the Law and the politically motivated repression over a seriously ailing young mother with a sick baby girl. We are deeply concerned whether the EU could recommend starting accession negotiations with a country holding political prisoners (thereby breaching the Copenhagen political criteria for EU membership) and whether the Republic of Bulgaria could support the accession attempts of such a country?

We feel obliged to stress that the “Spaska” case is not at all unique and forms integral part of a centrally planned, permanent and ubiquitous anti-Bulgarian campaign in FYROM and beyond, which is totally incompatible with the country’s aspirations to join a democratic, law-ruled and tolerant Europe. We want to alert that anyone, who dares to declare Bulgarian self-consciousness in FYROM, is subject to brutal repressions – sacking from work, jailing after absurd convictions, severe economic and moral deprivation, malicious ridiculing by authorities and media and even physical tortures. Europe and the democratic world cannot just observe and tolerate such a policy.

Spaska does not conceal her Bulgarian self-consciousness originating from her predeces-sors. She is among the key founders of the non-government association “Radko”, which brings together FYROM's citizens of Bulgarian nationality. Spaska Mirova has the basic human right to freely raise and educate her child in the tradition of her Bulgarian predecessors from Macedonia, who remained outside the modern Bulgaria's borders and spent their life as Ottoman, Serbian and Yugoslav citizens. But we have today another Europe !

Everyone is welcome to the protest. It will be a peaceful, non-political and mass event of free European citizens for defending principal human rights in FYROM. Please forget your political affiliations and join us to raise our common voice and to express prominently our solidarity in a civilized way – by singing and dancing, without threats and demonstration of power. Let us show that we love and cherish Vardar Macedonia, since not very long time ago (just before 1944) to be a Macedonian from the Vardar region simply meant to be a decent Bulgarian.