Wake up Gotse, they have sold you out!

Supporters of the opposition VMRO DPMNE party took to the streets of the capital of North Macedonia on Tuesday night to defend their country’s claim to the legacy of famous Ottoman-era revolutionary Goce Delcev, as the long-standing feud between North Macedonia and Bulgaria over his identity again took centre stage.

The protesters chanted “We won’t give up on Goce”, “Never North, only Macedonia” and “Resign” at the recently formed Social Democrat-led government, which they accuse of betraying the Delcev and the nation.

As they marched through Skopje they displayed banners saying that the protest was staged “For the EU, for Macedonia, for Delcev”, and declaring: “Wake up Goce, they have sold you!”.

“They want to betray Goce so that they can keep splitting profits from tenders and keep robbing the people. Delcev is our last bastion, our last fortress, and we won’t give an inch,” the head of VMRO DPMNE, Hristijan Mickoski, told the protesters, announcing similar rallies soon.

The protest march started in front of the Justice Ministry in Skopje. Photo: BIRN

This is the third protest rally led by the opposition party in just two weeks after the formation of the new government comprised, like the last one, of the Social Democrats under Zoran Zaev and the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration, DUI. It was formed on August 31.

Party supporters initially took to the streets to protest over the recent rise in the price of electricity.

The opposition has since shifted attention to old national identity issues and to bones of contention with Bulgaria about the Macedonian language and past history after Bulgarian officials last week reiterated threats to block North Macedonia’s EU talks over these issues.

The two countries have generally good relations. However, they have sharply different views of the past, which date back to times when Bulgaria claimed Macedonia as part of its own territory. One dispute is over whether one of the leading figures in the 19th-century resistance to the Ottoman Empire, Goce Delchev, is to be considered Macedonian or Bulgarian; both countries celebrate him as their own national hero.

Last week, Bulgarian Defence Minister Krasimir Karakachanov and Bulgarian MEP Andrey Kovatchev said that North Macedonia was only pretending to cooperate with its neighbour on a joint history commission, established to find common ground on historical disputes as part of a friendship agreement that both sides signed in August 2017.

Asked whether Bulgaria might actually block the formal start of North Macedonia’s EU membership talks, which Skopje hopes will start in the coming months, Karakachanov responded: “Of course”.

After a walk trough the city centre, protesters headed towards their end destination, the Foreign Ministry. Photo: BIRN

In response, North Macedonia’s officials said they were still hoping to reach common ground through the joint history commission. North Macedonian historians who form part of the joint commission on Monday initiated a new meeting with their colleagues, which they would like to happen before the end of this month.

While Zaev’s government says the joint commission should explore ways in which the two national narratives can coexist, the opposition in North Macedonia insists that what Zaev is doing is treason.

It has announced its intention to form a wide front against Zaev’s government on this and other issues and continue protests throughout the autumn.