Law for the Protection of Macedonian National Honour
The Law for the Protection of Macedonian National Honour was a statute passed by the government of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia (SR Macedonia) at the end of 1944. The Presidium of Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM) established a special court for the implementation of this law, which came into effect on January 3, 1945. This decision was taken at the second session of this assembly on 28–31 December 1944. The tribunal was to judge "the collaborators of the occupiers who have put down the Macedonian national  name and the Macedonian national honour", as part of an attempt to differentiate an ethnic and political Macedonian identity separate from neighboring Bulgaria and the historical Ottoman Empire Bulgarian community, of which both had been part. Although some researchers believe that it continued to be in force until 1991, it is much more likely that it was abolished in February 1948. History. Background. During the World War II, Bulgaria annexed the Yugoslav province called Vardar Banovina, encompassing most of modern North Macedonia. The Bulgarians were greeted by most of the locals as liberators from Serbian rule, because pro-Bulgarian sentiments  among them then prevailed. After Bulgaria sided with the Axis powers, it lost the war and the last Bulgarian troops withdrew from the region in November 1944. At the end of the World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia the Macedonian national feelings were already ripe, although it is not clear to what extend the Macedonian Slavs considered themselves to be different from the Bulgarians. To wipe out the remaining bulgarophile sentiments, the new Communist authorities took heavy measures. The task was also to break up all the organisations that opposed the idea of Yugoslavia. Purpose. The purpose of the law  was to distinguish the new Macedonian nation from Bulgaria, as differentiation from Bulgarians was seen as a confirmation that Macedonians were a separate ethnic community. In Yugoslav Macedonia it was forbidden for the locals to proclaim Bulgarian identity, and also the use of standard Bulgarian language was prohibited. Per Dejan Djokic to proclaim Bulgarian identity was allowed only after 1944 in the Strumica region. The area is part of the so-called Western Outlands, that were part of Bulgaria till 1919. Though per Georgy Fotev only migrants from the Serbian part of the Western Outlands were allowed to declare themselves  to be Bulgarians. In the period between 1945 and 1991, when North Macedonia was part of Yugoslavia, there was migration of Bulgarian population from SR Serbia to the SR Macedonia, which numbered per unofficial estimate at 20,000. Implementation and function. On January 3, 1945, the official communist newspaper "Nova Makedonija" published the newly adopted "Law on the Trial of Crimes against Macedonian National Honour". The law provided for a number of sanctions: deprivation of civil rights, imprisonment with forced labour, confiscation of property, and in cases where it was deemed that the accused might be sentenced to death, it was  envisaged that they would be handed over to a "competent court". The law also applies to territories that have been occupied by Italy and Albania. The law is a precedent in European legal history, as such legislation was not adopted even in the People's Republic of Slovenia, which was subjected to forced Italianization and Germanization during the war. Also the Macedonian Serbs were not tried on it either, despite some of them were cooperating with the Axis Forces.Leaders of the Macedonian Communist Party, who declared themselves as Bulgarians during one or another period of the war, such as  Lazar Kolishevski, Mihailo Apostolski, Blazhe Koneski, Lazar Mojsov and others, were not prosecuted under the law. Impact. The act allowed the sentencing of Yugoslav citizens from SR Macedonia for WWII collaboration with the Bulgarian authorities which had occupied the Macedonian territory of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as one of the Axis powers, for pro-Bulgarian sympathies, and for opposing the new Macedonian nation-building process. This was seen as contesting Macedonia's status as part of the newly communist Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and as fighting for the conception of an Independent Macedonia envisioned by the IMRO. Around 100,000  pro-Bulgarians were imprisoned for violations of the "Law", and over 1,260 were killed in early 1945. These were highly publicized show-trials, rather than being committed to justice. While occasional trials continued throughout the period the law was in force, the bulk of them took place in the late 1940s. The law influenced new generations to grow up with strong anti-Bulgarian sentiments, which increased to the level of state policy. Some victims were activists who tried to realize in different ways the idea of an Independent Macedonia, potentially influenced by Bulgarophile leanings. These included Metodija Andonov, Spiro Kitinchev , Dimitar Gyuzelov and Dimitar Chkatrov. Modern Period. Due to the inconsistent and confusing legal regulation of that law, it is not very clear until when it was in force. Although some researchers believe that it continued to be in force until 1991, when the present North Macedonia gained independence from the former Yugoslavia, according to a legal analysis of Macedonian non-governmental activists, it is much more likely that it was abolished in February 1948. This people that stuck to their Bulgarian identity met great hostility among the authorities and the rest of the population. With the fall of Communism  the hostility decreased, but still remains. In this way over time, a Bulgarian component to the ethnic identity of the Slavic-speaking population in Vardar Macedonia has disappeared. According to Bulgarian MEP Andrey Kovachev, being a Bulgarian in North Macedonia is a blow to the heart of the concept of a Macedonian nation. Per him, there is still silence about a number of anti-Bulgarian historical events, including this law.