The public largely ignored this year’s Ilinden celebration in Krusevo, where Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi delivered a speech insisting that Macedonia must approve the Bulgarian demands and amend its Constitution.

The lack of patriotic fervor and the constant national humiliations under the DUI – SDSM regime over the past six years have deflated interest in the Ilinden celebration, and turnout has been bad for years, and this year the number of security personnel for the invited politicians outnumbered the visitors.

We all witnessed this sad spectacle – the people are not there, the people are silent, except to boo the politicians who came. Unilke before, we remember the grand celebrations with throngs of people, music, laughter and flags, when Ilinden was celebrated as it should be, said VMRO-DPMNE member of Parliament Rasela Mizrahi.