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Central square of Skopje PHOTO: Reuters
A Macedonian opponent said that Sofia owes $ 25 billion in repairs
Instead of advancing to the eleventh meeting of the Bulgarian-Macedonian Historical Commission, the dispute returned to Tsar Samuel. Although his role was clarified in January 2019 by historians. At that time, the Macedonians used the wording that “Samuel gets his legitimacy from the Bulgarian kingdom.”
The commission, which began work in 2017 after the signing of a friendship treaty between Bulgaria and Macedonia, had to clarify controversial historical moments. Friday was their first meeting in a year off. Due to the epidemic, it was held online instead of in Skopje.
The Bulgarian side has placed 11 controversial points in Macedonian history textbooks. However, the discussion stopped at point four: King Samuel. The ruler is studying seventh grade in Macedonia. Our country insists that he be portrayed as the Bulgarian king in textbooks.
And the personality of Gotse Delchev on Friday was talked about only half an hour at the end, still no result.
“Progress
is zero
There is no small step in the negotiations. We are finishing a year, the eleventh meeting, and it turns out that we are going at a snail’s pace, ”commented historian Angel Dimitrov, who is the Bulgarian co-chair of the commission.
The Macedonians have refused to sign the minutes since the ninth meeting. According to Dimitrov, the reason was that they wanted to use the adjective “Macedonian”, which contradicts North Macedonia’s practice and claims to the UN.
Without signed protocols, there is no document that reflects the discussions and the decisions were uncertain. Angel Dimitrov added that an attempt was made to discredit Bulgaria.
“We are very, very far from completing the work of the textbooks that should teach children about the Middle Ages in the RSM,” said the Bulgarian historian.
The Macedonians
we were surprised
that the bulgarians
He asked
discuss the subject of language
at the online meeting.
“This has not been shared with us before, nor has our Foreign Ministry been warned. The Bulgarian colleagues did nothing to solve this problem,” explained Macedonian co-chair Dragi Georgiev. According to him, there was “absolute opposition to what should be written in textbooks”, and Macedonians spoke different languages with Bulgarian historians.
“No one has ever said that Bulgaria should give up its history, on the contrary,” added Dragi Georgiev.
A Macedonian journalist has accused Bulgarian historians of being influenced by the statements of Deputy Prime Ministers Krassimir Karakachanov and Ekaterina Zaharieva.
“The Bulgarian commission is made up of authorities and no one can even suspect any political dependency. These suggestions are a game with people’s emotions.
Historians
they are not guilty
because of the problems between the two countries, ”Angel Dimitrov replied. Only one of the points of the agreement is for the historical commission, but if you ask Macedonian politicians what they have done to others, they will not be able to answer, added the Bulgarian co-chair.
Dimitrov, who is also a former Bulgarian ambassador to Macedonia, advised at least to criticize Bulgaria, because our country was one of the first to recognize the young state, and we were close to it in all crises.
“Can you give tanks and cannons to an enemy?” We donated during the refugee crisis in Kosovo. I mention these things because when a country has been constantly carefully and moderately explaining where the problems are in Skopje for decades, nobody wants to hear anything, ”added Dimitrov. He said Skopje should conduct a self-critical review of its Yugoslav past.
“In the Macedonians
textbooks will write
the agreed
by the Joint Committee “,
recalled before the meeting Prime Minister Zoran Zaev. And this should have happened starting with the 2021/2022 school year, Nezavisen Vesnik reported. The talks would continue regardless of whether Macedonia would receive a “green light” from Bulgaria on December 8 to start negotiations with the EU.
The leader of the opposition Civic Option for Macedonia (GROM) party, Stevcho Jakimovski, was quoted by the local Makfax newspaper asking Sofia to pay $ 25 billion in World War II reparations, which were forgiven by Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito. .
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