The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, recently said that Macedonia needs to take "one key step" on its path towards European Union membership. She paints a picture of hope – that just one easy step will ensure Macedonia's prosperity in the "European family of nations", a phrase often used by EU leaders. Of course, Macedonia is in Europe but the West likes to portray that the EU itself is Europe and everyone else is an outsider.

And, to be diplomatic, I will say this about EU membership for Macedonia – no thanks.

The “one key step” that von der Leyen neglects to say, however, is that Macedonia must erase its identity, culture, and history and officially honour Bulgarian Nazis who committed genocide against Macedonians.

It's how the West paints its pictures – shiny and glossy, concealed in blood.

The most shocking part? That none of this is shocking.

The European Union and NATO, led by the United States, already aided in the erasure of Macedonia with the forced, illegal name change in support of Greece, which also committed genocide against Macedonians. Greece had demanded the name change and violations of Macedonians’ rights in exchange for lifting its veto of Macedonia’s (again, no thanks) NATO membership bid.

This should also not surprise the Western public as we have watched in horror the genocide that Israel is committing in Palestine, with direct Western support.

Prior to this, the West, along with our oppressors, committed genocide in Macedonia. Following the partition of Macedonia in 1913 among Serbia (now the independent Republic of Macedonia), Greece, Bulgaria and, in 1919, Albania, hundreds of thousands of Macedonians were murdered, expelled, or displaced. Any mention of Macedonia or expression of Macedonian identity was also brutally denied and suppressed.

But that wasn’t enough for the West and its aforementioned “strategic partners”. They have now switched to a campaign of cultural genocide and want to eradicate any trace of the existence of Macedonians, with two brush strokes.

The first being the so-called “Prespa Agreement”, the treaty that forcibly changed Macedonia’s name and was illegally imposed onto Macedonians. The West fixed elections, installed a puppet regime, launched brutal attacks on Macedonians, imprisoned dissenters, and broke international, Macedonian, and constitutional law in order to force through the illegal name change at the behest of Greece.

Yet, the West hailed it as a “resolution of a diplomatic dispute”, again, refusing to show the real picture of what the “Prespa Agreement” is:

• Article 7(2) officially hands over the term “Macedonia” to Greeceand renders the entire Macedonian population in Aegean Macedonia (annexed by Greece in 1913) as non-existent;
• Article 7(3) creates a brand new, artificial "North Macedonian" identity and eradicates all Macedonians' heritage, identity, and culture regardless of where we live;
• Article 8(5) mandates that a panel of Greek diplomats rewrite Macedonian history and that Macedonian textbooks be rewritten to officially remove any trace of our existence.

Shockingly ironic considering that Greece denied the existence of Macedonia until 1988, then suddenly began claiming Macedonia’s name as its own. Former Greek Prime Minister, Constantine Mitsotakis, even admitted in 1995 that the so-called "name dispute" had nothing to do with Macedonia's name, but was initiated by Greece to deny the existence (and cultural genocide) of Macedonians in Aegean Macedonia.

The West’s second brush stroke painting over the existence of Macedonians and covering up the violation of international law is the so-called “Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness, and Cooperation” between Macedonia and Bulgaria, which outlines Bulgaria’s demands (particularly highlighted in Article 8(2), Article 8(3), Article 11(5), and the Preamble) in exchange for potentially lifting its veto of Macedonia’s EU membership bid, including additional Bulgarian demands since the illegal treaty was signed:

• Macedonia to renounce the existence of Macedonians in Pirin Macedonia (annexed by Bulgaria in 1913 and constituting a large internationally recognized minority);
• The ironic and illogical inclusion of Bulgarians in Macedonia's Constitution despite Bulgarians never having a presence in the Republic of Macedonia;
• Declarations that Macedonians "never existed" and are “truly Bulgarian” (despite Bulgaria appropriating Macedonian history when forging its own identity);
• Further rewriting of history to erase any reference to Bulgaria's mass murder and persecution of Macedonians;
• Removing reference to Bulgaria’s alliance with Nazi Germany during World War II and occupation of Macedonia, and including the deportation of more than 7,000 Macedonian Jews to the Treblinka death camp in Poland;
• Demanding that the Macedonian minority in Albania, despite being an officially recognized minority by Albania and internationally, be suddenly recognized as “Bulgarian” in exchange for Bulgaria’s support of Albania’s European Union membership bid.

The West, of course, only issued condemnation of the rewriting of Jewish history, but not Macedonian history or any of the other violations of Macedonians’ rights. The Western playbook to a tee.

Re-enter Ursula von der Leyen.

She would have Macedonians believe that these events are all positive and are for "the sake of the children". Yes, she actually tried to make that argument during a 2022 address to Macedonian parliament. She has since not stopped trying to convince Macedonians that our eradication is to our benefit.

Her brutally ironic “concern for the children” would later be on full display with her unwavering support for Israel’s slaughter of Palestinian children.

But the façade is over. It took a live-streamed genocide, but the Western public finally sees through the gloss of Western hypocrisy. But will they ever take action to stop it and hold its leaders accountable?

Bill Nicholov, President
Macedonian Human Rights Movement International
x.com/billnicholov

Macedonian Human Rights Movement International (MHRMI) has been active on human and national rights issues for Macedonians and other oppressed peoples since 1986. MHRMI demands respect for Macedonia's name, identity and human rights for oppressed Macedonians in the Balkans. For more information: 1-416-850-7125, info@mhrmi.org, mhrmi.org, twitter.com/mhrmi, facebook.com/mhrmi, instagram.com/MacedonianHumanRights #OurNameIsMacedonia