The court in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, has once again upheld the decision of the Registration Agency to refuse the registration of a Macedonian organization, rejecting the application from the Association of Repressed Macedonians in Bulgaria, victims of communist terror. The registration request was submitted on January 20 of this year, but the court ruled that part of the organization’s objectives are “aimed against the unity of the nation,” according to Atanas Kirjakov, Chairman of the City Committee of UMO Ilinden in Blagoevgrad.
This decision continues a long-standing practice by Bulgarian courts, which have systematically denied registration to Macedonian organizations since the early 1990s, often citing territorial integrity and national unity. The first such denial was against UMO Ilinden itself, which was initially rejected despite an earlier ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) finding a violation of the right to freedom of association.
According to critics, these repeated rejections significantly restrict the right to association for ethnic Macedonians in Bulgaria, preventing such groups from operating legally and advocating for their historical and cultural interests. International institutions, including the Council of Europe, have repeatedly expressed concern about respect for these rights.
