Mickoski: EU is deleting the Macedonian language and identity from its report in Taliban style

Under Bulgarian pressure, the European Parliament will likely remove every mention of the Macedonian national identity and language from the latest progress report. The original version of the report, that was adopted in the AFET foreign affairs committee of the Parliament, includes acknowledgement of the Macedonian language and identity, which prompted angry Bulgarian reactions and demands that the word “modern” is added before the word Macedonian, in an attempt to declare our language and identity as historically Bulgarian.

Faced with strong counter-reaction to this proposal from Macedonia, the three coordinated parties in the Parliament, the center-right, center-left and the liberals, have apparently reached agreement that the references are scrubbed altogether.

The Macedonian language and identity are being erased from the report in a Taliban style, said Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski in his first reaction afte the news was broken by gloating Bulgarian media outlets.

Mickoski said that for Macedonia it would have been just as bad to see the term “modern” added before the references, as to have them erased. “It is important that the report was adopted in the AFET Committee. It will remain written in our collective memory that for the first time the Macedonian identity and language were acknowledged in the seat of European democracy – the European Parliament, in the capital of Europe”.

The Prime Minister added that the Bulgarian reaction showed clearly, to all, that the issue with Bulgaria is not just about including the small Bulgarian minority in Macedonia in the Constitution, but that the demands go far deeper. “All those who manipulated with our public, telling us that all we have to do is amend the Constitution and all our problems would be solved, should now apologize to the Macedonian citizens”, Mickoski added.

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