bugarash: Human Rights Issues

28.11.2007
Skopie, Republic of Macedonia

TO: His Excellency Mr. Miho MIHOV, Ambassador of Republic of Bulgaria
in Macedonia; Her Excellency Mrs. Gillian Milovanovic, U.S. Ambassador
in Republic of Macedonia, His Excellency Mr. Erwan FOUÉRÉ, EU Special
Representative and Head of Delegation of the European Commission;
Ambassador Giorgio RADICIATI, OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission; Mr.
Michael John FRANKLAND, European Union Monitoring Mission; George
LEBAMOFF, President of the Macedonian Patriotic Organization; Mr.
Nikola GRUEVSKI, Prime Minister of Republic of Macedonia; Antonio
MILOSHOSKI, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Macedonia

FWD: Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Mr. Sergei STANISHEV
Prime Minister of Republic of Bulgaria, Mr. Georgi PARVANOV, President
of Republic of Bulgaria, Ivailo KALFIN, Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Republic of Bulgaria; Media in Republic of Bulgaria

RE: Human Rights Issues

Your Excellency,

I feel obliged to inform you, that my brother Miroslav Rizinski,
became a victim of the repressive police-intelligence structures in
the Republic of Macedonia for the second time. These structures
managed to arrest him in a process that is a set up, using armed
pressure.
The continual violations of the basic human rights, among which is the
manifestation of the ethnic and the religious beliefs, as well as the
freedom of speech and movement, is a practice tolerated and even
inspired by the governmental institutions.
The Mara Buneva incident of January 13, 2007, where my brother
sustained injuries for which he was treated in hospital gave a clear
hint that more and worse would come if he kept manifesting his
Macedono-Bulgarian heritage. His visit to the annual MPO Convention in
Detroit during the Labor Day weekend, at the invitation of its
president Mr. George Lebamoff, was the last straw for our anti-
Bulgarian establishment. Immediately after the convention, they
decided to act and "neutralize" him under the pretext that they are
working against corruption.
Threatened by the police with a gun, my brother was forced to accept
money. This is the same money for which he is accused for taking
bribe. The police claim that Miroslav took the money at 13h in “Koktel
Bar” in Skopie. However, there are witnesses who saw Miroslav entering
in his office in 12:30h, where the spectacular arrest followed.
Obviously, the police is trying to cover up the fact that they spent
two hours threatening him and forcing him to accept the money. Their
agents also visited him during the time he was temporarily arrested
without any authorization from the court and without presence of a
lawyer.
This government uses the fight against corruption only as a pretext
for their endmost populism and violation of human rights. Behind this
pretext there is a firm determination to lynch all those citizens who
do not comply with the anti-Bulgarian ideology left over from the
former totalitarian system.
In this regard, the preparation of the incident can be also understood
as an excuse for the government’s lack of competence to attract
foreign investors. This government forges set ups against those
citizens who do not conform ideologically and politically and tries to
cover its foreign investments incapability be with significant media
presence and marketing expenditures.
The judiciary in Macedonia is still controlled by the government, as
it was during Yugoslav communist times. Macedonia is independent today
but it is still not a free country where everyone can manifest his own
ethnic virtues.
Your Excellency, I am worried that my brother will not get a fair
trial for the following reason. The government has permitted open
attacks on those of Bulgarian ethnicity and if it has given hooligans
carte blanche to attack elderly people, it will not refrain from
influencing the judges at my brother's trial.
Your Excellency, I don't know where else to turn. I am very concerned
that the trial is fair, and that my brother, who is innocent will be
falsely convicted. This is a politically provoked process without any
proofs. The court issued a verdict based only on the statement of a
man who already was in prison and against whom there are exsistent
criminal charges. This self-acclaimed “democratic” system holds my
brother in prison without bail when full guarantees are provided and
it doesn’t allow him to prepare his defense. The misinterpretations
and falsifications spread by the Macedonia media in regard with this
process are just a logical consequence.
I ask you, dear Excellency, your institution to become aware that this
government doesn’t lead Republic of Macedonia into the EU and NATO,
but back to the dark days of Tito’s Yugoslavia. Please do anything in
your power to put an end of this travesty of justice and to ensure
that this government will not violate the human rights and the
Bulgarian dignity of our family once more.