On behalf of BSP, Ivan Chenchev read in parliament a statement about the latest attack against a North Macedonian citizen with Bulgarian self-awareness. The beating took place in Struga on June 13. The MP asked the parliament to issue a general declaration condemning the hate crime against co-chairman of the Bulgarian association in Struga, Bekir Kadrieski - "Shemeto", who is currently in hospital. The draft declaration calls on Skopje to end all forms of anti-Bulgarian hate speech. The declaration must be submitted in writing to be voted on by the MPs, the speaker of the parliament said.

The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent the Bulgarian consul from the General Consulate in Bitola to Struga, in order to clarify the facts on the spot and find out whether this is a hate crime, the ministry announced.

Kadrieski was attacked by unknown persons in the town of Struga, who called him a "dirty Bulgarian" throughout the brutal beating, Zivko Chakrakchiev, co-chairman of the Bulgarian association in Ohrid, told BNR.

"When you beat the leaders of a community, you make the whole community scared and it gives up public actions. We see that leaders are systematically beaten and attacked. These are people whose activities bring Bulgarians and Macedonians together. The goal of the attacks is to intimidate the Bulgarians," Viktor Stoyanov of “Macedonia” Foundation told BNR.