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b. The Association aims to:
– raise and affirm the Macedonian cultural space, having as its priority the cultural and historical identity of the Slavs
from Macedonia who have appeared as Bulgarians throughout the centuries;
– establish traditional ethic and human values;
– affirm the ideas of the Macedonian Liberation Movement.
c. The Association realises its objectives through:
– own book-publishing activity, publication of its own newspaper and its own electronic media;
– the organisation of conferences, seminars and forums with outstanding scientific and cultural scholars from the country
and abroad;
– cooperation with scientific, cultural and educational institutions, and with similar associations and organisations from
the country or abroad.”
17. After the opening speech by the Chairman of the Association and a solemn performance of the anthem
of Todor Alexandrov, three young men threw smoke bombs inside the conference hall, which caused a
temporary delay. Some of the participants started to beat and kick the young men. The latter managed to
escape, but a retired journalist was injured. According to the daily newspaper “ Utrinski vesnik ” of 30 October
2000, he sustained a “fracture of his left hand and blood on his face”.
18. On 7 October 2005 the Skopje Court of First Instance convicted two persons of causing grievous
bodily injury and sentenced them to three months’ imprisonment. It found that the perpetrators had pushed
the journalist, who had sustained a fracture of the forearm. One of the perpetrators was a member of the
Association.
19. There was a strong media campaign before and after the launch of the Association, condemning its
foundation and functioning as contrary to the Macedonian national identity. The Association was described
as “fascist” and as rehabilitating “terrorism and fascism, which were the basic characteristics of Hitler’s
collaborator Vančo Mihajlov” (excerpts from the newspapers “Utrinski vesnik ”, mentioned above, and
“Dnevnik ” from 24 October 2000).
D. The procedure before the Constitutional Court and subsequent events
20. In or about October 2000 three practising lawyers from Skopje, together with a political party and the
Association of War Veterans from the Second World War filed petitions before the Constitutional Court
challenging the conformity of the Association’s Articles and Programme with Article 20 of the Constitution.
They also challenged the lawfulness of the Ohrid court’s decision to register the Association.
21. The petitioners, inter alia , stressed that:
“…the aims of the Association are the infiltration of Bulgarian linguistic elements into the Macedonian language and
alphabet…”

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22. The petitioners noted that all the Association’s documents bore the flag of Vančo Mihajlov. They
continued:
“The Association promotes Vančo’s (meaning Ivan Mihajlov’s) ideology for a change in the national conscience of the
Macedonian people in favour of another one, which destroys the Macedonian national texture and leads to the encouragement of
and incitement to national hatred and intolerance. The Association rehabilitates and legalises terrorism and fascism as crucial
characteristics of the work of Hitler’s collaborator Vančo Mihajlov, as an “act of holy liberation” and as a legacy that is left to
someone to complete…The Slavs from Macedonia who appeared as Bulgarians ( Болгари ) throughout the centuries…are unknown
in the Republic of Macedonia. They do not exist as a nation, any nationality or legitimate entity whatsoever. There are only
Macedonians in Macedonia, and there also might be Bulgarians, Serbs…as affiliated to different people and nations. However,
there are no “Slavs from Macedonia-Bulgarians”.