VMRO-DPMNE wants to terminate the friendship treaty with Bulgaria
“The issue of the VMRO-DPMNE-initiated referendum in the Republic of North Macedonia will refer to the friendship treaty concluded with Bulgaria, because this is the root of the problem,” stated after the meeting of the VMRO-DPMNE electoral committee, the chairman of the opposition party Hristiyan Mitskoski. , specified “after a month of in-depth consultations with professors, lawyers, experts, MPs, coalition partners”, will read: “Are you in favor of repealing the Law on the Ratification of the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation between the Republic of North Macedonia and Bulgaria, published in the State Gazette of January 18, 2017?”
The wording was sought in such a way as to eliminate the argument that the parliament of North Macedonia has nothing to do with the decision on a referendum, since the ratification of the treaty with Bulgaria takes place in the parliament, Mickoski explained. He specified that at least 100 signatures would be collected in the last week in order to bring the proposal to the legislature and then be approved to start the deadlines for collecting the required 150,000 signatures. The decision of the opposition party is to demand a mandatory referendum in the country.
Mickoski states that VMRO-DPMNE support the integration of the Republic of North Macedonia into the EU, but do not support “assimilation, the change of historical facts and the concealment of identity”, it is happening because of the 2017 Treaty of Friendship between Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia, signed by then Prime Ministers Zoran Zaev and Boyko Borisov.
VMRO-DPMNE will call for a “yes” vote on the issue proposed by them, which essentially means the termination of the agreement with Bulgaria. “It is the source and the beginning of all the problems for us and the basis on which Bulgaria builds its maximalist demands. The termination of this contract will mean the termination of the demands to change the textbooks, disputing the language, history and culture,” Mitkoski said.
“The government and Kovacevski said that historical issues were not the topic of the conversation, but it turned out that they were a condition for negotiations with the EU. People were not asked about it. Macedonia was added to a subordinate position. We gave up on many things, and in return The government must allow people to express themselves,” Mickoski emphasized.