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 Since
the year of 1913, Macedonia was divided on four parts, of which 6,798 sq km
given to Bulgaria. That was the region of eastern
Macedonia, today known as Pirin Macedonia.
The Bulgarian government hasn't done
any colonization problems but there still was violation of their human rights.
The Macedonian language was forbidden by the authorities. The Bulgarians have
started a propaganda against the Macedonian nation. They claimed that the
Macedonians, are nothing else than pure Bulgarians. The form of the Macedonian surname -vski was sent out of use, because the
Bulgarians wanted all of this population to have like them that ends on -ov,
which was again typically Macedonian. If anyone haven't respected this rules, he
would been killed immediately.
In Pirin Macedonia, there was in 1919 a compact
Macedonian population of 250,000. Official Bulgarian policy and statistics
following the second world war showed different figures in different periods
concerning the number of Macedonians in the country. We may take as most
objective the figures from 1956 population census when 190,000 declared them as
Macedonians. Of this number, in Gorna Dzumaja (Blagoevgrad) region, which
comprises 281,000 citizens, 180,000 declared them selves as Macedonians. But as
the time moved on the population started to grow. Today Macedonians lives even
in the region of the Bulgarian capital, Sophia and not to mention those who live
in Burgas and the region which has sea access on the Black Sea. In spite of all
claims by Bulgaria to European orientation and the acceptance of European
democratic values, during the 1992 population census the Macedonians were not
allowed to declare them as Macedonians.
 In
a short period after 1947, the Macedonians living in Pirin Macedonia had
schools in their mother language and also their own theatre. More recently,
Amnesty International, the Organization for International Human Rights and
Helsinki Watch have given documentary evidence about the situation there and
about the violation of the individual and minority rights of the Macedonians.
The authorities have been refusing the registration of
the Ilinden United Macedonian Organization and the Macedonian Democratic Party,
although they fulfill all the necessary conditions. Brutal police repression
measures have been taken against their meetings, demonstrations and
celebrations, even in monasteries. Police and judiciary repression against the
leaders and activists of OMO Ilinden Pirin and other Macedonian organization is
continuing. In order to prevent the celebration of anniversaries of historical
events by the Macedonians in Pirin Macedonia, special police forces are used
and even military maneuvers are organized at that time. For example the last one
at the meeting for the anniversary of the death of Jane Sandanski, one of the leaders of V.M.R.O.
who was killed by the Bulgarians during the first world in 1915, was and for which the
Bulgarians claims as Bulgarian hero.
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