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Unfortunately, I find the eleventh meeting in a row to be zero. There is not one small step forward in our work. This was stated by the co-chair of the Joint Multidisciplinary Commission of Experts on Historical and Educational Issues, established in accordance with the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborhood and Cooperation between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia, Professor Angel Dimitrov in a press conference after a two-day video conference.
Some very important things were clarified, for which we already had signs, but today’s meeting confirmed them. In the established practice at the seventh and eighth meetings, after the ninth, our colleagues refused to sign the minutes and insisted on the use of the adjective “Macedonian” throughout. This was in contradiction, on the one hand, with established practice and, on the other hand, with North Macedonia’s desire for communication, which it had expressed with its note paper to the UN, said Professor Dimitrov.
By blocking the signing of the minutes of two meetings, you question our work a bit. Without a document that clearly reflects what discussions have taken place and what decisions have been made, things seem uncertain and show a reluctance to work harder and more effectively. The emergence of this new position by our colleagues is part of a political attitude, an attempt to discredit the Bulgarian position, which began after October last year, he added.
Regarding the nature of our work and the zero result, in North Macedonia it was constantly said that the Commission had rejected three periods in the textbooks: ancient history, the Middle Ages and the early period of Ottoman rule in the Balkans. . In fact, we are a long way from completing the work on the textbooks teaching seventh grade children in North Macedonia to the Middle Ages. Our marks are 14 points each, and we are currently in fourth place. Today, this fourth point related to Tsar Samuel was again completely ineffective and showed a backtracking from a joint text already prepared to the two governments for a joint celebration of such a notable historical figure as Tsar Samuel, said Professor Angel Dimitrov.
We finished a year and it turns out that I am moving at a pace as slow as a turtle. And the life of a contract to fulfill does not count at all on the longevity of the turtles. I really want that next year, if we work fully, we do what is expected of us, due to the signed contract of friendship and good neighborliness, said Professor Dimitrov.
The Macedonian co-chair of the Commission, Professor Dragi Georgiev, described the discussion as multi-layered. I agree with Professor Dimitrov that the discussion did not produce any results, he explained.
On the work of the commission. It started with textbooks. With the fourth comment from the seventh grade textbooks. The main point was the presentation of Samuel’s state in the history textbooks. Unfortunately, we did not reach an agreement here either, said Professor Dragi Georgiev. He commented on the problem with the protocols. Professor Georgiev stated that his Bulgarian colleagues have started to practice how to make protocols without first sharing and consulting them. Without notifying our ministry first. Perhaps consultation with the ministry and with our colleagues on the Bulgarian side would help to overcome this problem, Prof. Georgiev said.
It is necessary to change the image of Bulgaria as the greatest enemy of North Macedonia. However, North Macedonia cannot do this alone, it must also enlist the help of Bulgaria. We will continue the dialogue with our Bulgarian colleagues to overcome misunderstandings, Prof. Georgiev said.
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