Bulgaria’s liberal party, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), was given huge recognition by the Liberal International (LI). The president of the world’s largest liberal organisation, Hakima El Haite, presented MRF leader Mustafa Karadayi with the first "Hans van Baalen Medal of Liberalism” for promoting liberal values in Eastern Europe. The Liberal Party of the Republic of North Macedonia received the same medal from the organisation.
The two liberal factions were honoured for their dedicated work and collaboration aimed at the integration of their nations and the entire region of the Balkans into the European Union (EU), regardless of the political tension between the two neighbouring states in the last few years.
The awarding ceremony took place at the congress of the Liberal International, which is being held in Sofia to celebrate the organisation’s 75th anniversary. Bulgaria’s liberal party, the MRF, is hosting the event, in which more than 250 delegates from more than 60 countries are participating.
The improvement of the bilateral relations between Bulgaria and North Macedonia in the last week, which opens the prospects for Skopje's accession to the EU, is a sign of hope for the entire region, the president of LI, Hakima el Haite, said.
Това стана по време на юбилейния конгрес на Либералния интернационал, който се
"Hans van Baalen would be proud to see the Macedonian and Bulgarian liberals working together," the widow of Hans van Baalen said. Van Baalen who had enormous contribution to the development and popularisation of the liberal idea, died last year, while being a member of the European parliament from the Netherlands and chairman of ALDE (the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe).
It is a great honour for me and for us in the MRF to receive this award exactly on the subject of the relations between Bulgaria and Macedonia, MRF leader Mustafa Karadayi said. After the fall of the communist regimes, we in the Balkans have had two models of development, two ways to resolve inter-ethnic disputes. The first was seen in former Yugoslavia, where the authorities chose the path of war. The second ethnic model is the Bulgarian one, the MRF leader told the congress.
Even though there were attempts from 1964 to 1989 to forcibly assimilate muslims in Bulgaria, we accelerated the fall of the communist regime with our peaceful protests in 1989. Immediately after that we said NO to revanchism and achieved a peaceful transition from communism to democracy, Karadayi recalled.
By virtue of our honorary chairman, Dr. Ahmed Dogan, who is the architect of the Bulgarian ethnic model, we have the philosophy of togetherness. The philosophy urges that the different be together, that everyone assert their identity, even, if necessary, help the different defend their identity, be together and build our shared future, Mustafa Karadai said.
It was back then, in the late 1980s, that Dr. Dogan was telling us that Balkan countries have no place at the battlefield but should instead have common unions of values, like the EU and NATO, the MRF leader pointed out.
