UMD’s next-gen leaders defend minority rights in the Balkans

UMD’s next-gen leaders defend minority rights in the Balkans

Young leaders in the United Macedonian Diaspora have made a formal submission to the United Nations. The team is calling for radical action to tackle oppression of Macedonian ethnic minorities, notably in Greece and Bulgaria.    The U.N. report, Eliminating Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief and the Achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16) made a call for…

UMD Calls for a Cultural Shift in Bulgaria and Greece on Minority Issues

UMD Calls for a Cultural Shift in Bulgaria and Greece on Minority Issues

Video Submission for the UN Forum on Minority Issues 13th Session, Geneva, 19 and 20 November 2020   Organization: United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) Presenter: Metodija A. Koloski, President   Item 4: Regulation of online hate speech: the role and responsibility of intergovernmental organizations, States, internet companies, and social media platforms   Thank you to the UN Special Rapporteur on minority…

UMD Statement on Golden Dawn Court Ruling in Greece

UMD Statement on Golden Dawn Court Ruling in Greece

The United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) commends yesterday’s Greek court decision concluding a five-year-long trial, which found far-right political party Golden Dawn to have been operating as a criminal organization. The organization is well-known in Greece for having been responsible for numerous murders and assaults over the course of its existence since 1980. Golden Dawn used violence and intimidation tactics against…

UMD Denounces Bulgaria’s Inflammatory Demands of Macedonia

UMD Denounces Bulgaria’s Inflammatory Demands of Macedonia

The United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) vehemently rejects Bulgaria’s objectionable demands of Macedonia, as a precondition to EU accession. Krasimir Karakachanov, Bulgaria’s Defense Minister, has stated that Macedonia agreed to change the flag, to change the country’s name, and will also agree to change its history, in return for Bulgaria’s support for its EU accession progress. The Bulgarian state has also…

Mother (“Maika”) in Name Only by Helen Manou

Mother (“Maika”) in Name Only by Helen Manou

As Macedonians throughout the world unite in a moment of silence and light a candle to remember those who have suffered the brutality of the Greek state for the last 150 years and commemorate the Macedonian Genocide, we, at UMD wanted to share this very touching and authentic story by Adelaide-based Australian-Macedonian Helen Manou about her mother who was one…

UMD Profoundly Disappointed in Decision to Convert the Hagia Sophia into a Mosque

UMD Profoundly Disappointed in Decision to Convert the Hagia Sophia into a Mosque

The United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD), the leading voice for Macedonians abroad, expressed its profound disappointment in today’s decision to convert the Hagia Sophia into a mosque following a Turkish court order that the breathtaking UNESCO-protected world architectural wonder need not be a museum. UMD joins many leaders and international organizations, including U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, the European Union,…