site.btaGraffiti Tug-of-War: "Bulgarians in the Constitution is Treason" Messages Resurface in Skopje

The tug-of-war battle over graffiti related to the inclusion of Bulgarians in the Constitution of North Macedonia continues along the Vardar River quay in downtown Skopje.

On November 3, at the beginning of the election campaign for the May parliamentary elections in the country, unidentified members of the youth wing of The Left party wrote "Bulgarians in the Constitution is treason" in several spots in Skopje, including the Vardar quay near the Stone Bridge.

The message was later modified, with "is treason" removed and replaced by the Bulgarian flag, and for about ten days, the graffiti read "Bulgarians in the Constitution."

On November 12, media outlets reported that the graffiti had been entirely removed and the wall painted white. However, by end of that day, the youth wing of The Left party had restored the original message: "Bulgarians in the Constitution is treason."

They announced their action in a video on their Facebook page, claiming that, if necessary, they will come hundreds more times to reveal "the truth that including Bulgarians in the Constitution is treason."

Their stance is that "until Bulgarians recognize the Macedonian people and Macedonians in Pirin Macedonia, they have no right to demand that [North] Macedonia change its Constitution." They also said that when they first made the graffiti, "the police forces of Panche Toshkovski [North Macedonia's Interior Minister]" harassed and interrupted them.

The leader of The Left, Dimitar Apasiev, also shared a photo of the renewed graffiti on his Facebook profile, noting that it was updated to mark "the 80th anniversary of Skopje's liberation from fascists".