The Bulgarian government refuses to acknowledge the existence of the large Macedonian minority in Pirin Macedonia (annexed by Bulgaria after the partition of Macedonia in 1912/13) and continues to violate its basic human rights. These are the main reasons why Bulgaria constantly denies the OMO "Ilinden" - PIRIN's party registration. The European Commission has called several times on Bulgaria to respect the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights and to recognize OMO "Ilinden" - PIRIN. However, on September 4, 2007, the Sofia District Court in Bulgaria again denied OMO "Ilinden" - PIRIN's party registration. Word from the party and the European Court of Human Rights is that it was yet again politically motivated so that the Macedonians could not participate in the next month's local elections.
The following videos describe the life of the Macedonian minority in Bugaria and the problems that the party OMO "Ilinden" - PIRIN has registering its party in this country.