Country: Bulgaria

Group: Macedonians

Date Finalized: 2/28/2022

Team: Rami Sussan (Lead), Erin Fagan, Ryan Oakley, Hunter Blevins

Content Warning: Physical Violence, Discrimination, Ethnocide

Approximate Time Period: 1912-present

            Macedonians in Bulgaria are concentrated in the country’s southwest region which Bulgaria incorporated in 1912. Between WWI and WWII, Bulgarian authorities beat, tortured, and killed many Macedonians (Daskalovski, 2002). The government improved its treatment of Macedonians after WWII. However, in 1963, the government began aggressive assimilation efforts due to deteriorating relationships between Yugoslavia and Bulgaria (Minority Rights Group, 2018). Since then, Macedonians have regularly faced police-related violence, detainment, harassment, and violation of the right to gather (Daskalovski, 2002).  Moreover, the Bulgarian government has banned Macedonians from forming political parties or organizations along ethnic or religious lines (Daskalovski, 2002).

Data Quality: The data quality is rated at a 3/3 as there are multiple sources from  peer-reviewed data as well as reputable organizations.

Sources    

  1. Daskalovski, Z. (2002). Human Rights in the Balkans—The forgotten few: Macedonians of Bulgaria. International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, 9(2), 143–160. https://doi.org/10.1163/157181102761163091
  2. Minority Rights Group. (2018). Macedonians     . https://minorityrights.org/minorities/macedonians-2/
  3. Macedonia Times (2021). Macedonians in Bulgaria demand end of discrimination—Inclusion in Bulgarian census and constitution. https://macedoniatimes.news/macedonians-bulgaria-discrimination
  4. Stojkov, S. (2021). The continuation of communist-era totalitarian policies in the European Union the case of Bulgaria, the Macedonian minority and Macedonia’s EU integration. Security Dialogues /Безбедносни Дијалози, 12(1), 49–67.https://doi.org/10.47054/SD211210049s