There are no minorities in the Bulgarian Constitution and it is based on a completely different principle, the individual law and not the collective one. We do not have minorities in our country, that is what the law says, said Bulgarian Vice President Iliana Iotova, referring to requests for recognition of Macedonian associations in Bulgaria during a visit to Ohrid on Sunday.
Regarding the fact that Bulgaria demands recognition of the rights of Bulgarians in Macedonia, while on the other hand does not recognize the rights of Macedonians in Bulgaria, for which there are verdicts from the court in Strasbourg, Iotova said “we have no minorities in our country, while here it’s different, and as we saw with the last census, you are a multinational country.”
“I have worked in the Council of Europe and the EU for many years and I will tell you that what you quote from Strasbourg is a solution related to respect for human rights and it never said that Bulgaria should recognize the Macedonian minority. So, no one has ever asked and will not ask Bulgaria to recognize any minority, because the Bulgarian Constitution is respected in Strasbourg,” Iotova said.
The Bulgarian Vice President stressed that Bulgaria will continue to work for the protection of the rights of Bulgarian citizens in the country and that Bulgaria will not say “yes” to EU membership until these issues are regulated.
