MACEDONIAN-BULGARIAN RELATIONS

AIM, Skopje, May 19, 1994

SUMMARY: Is a fourth front opening up in Macedonia, the Bulgarian one, which is for the time being only a verbal one? As of late intensive activities of the pro-Bulgarian circle are apparent in Macedonia and they are headed by the opposition party VMRO-DPMNE.Official Bulgaria opposes the acceptance of Macedonia in the CSCE, due to, as she claims, the status of 500,000 Bulgarians in that country.

The visit of the Macedonian President, Kiro Gligorov to the Republic of Bulgria was assessed by the Macedonian public as an historical act, due to the fact that it was the first time in history that a Macedonian President spoke in the Bulgarian Parliament. However, those that qualified this visit as a fiasco of Macedonian foreign policy,since the meeting Gligorov-Zeliev gave no concrete results were louder. The Macedonian side refused to sign the official document on cooperation since it contained the phrase "the official languages of the two states", whereby the Bulgarian side wished clearly to emphasize that it still considered historical continuity to be of relevance when Macedonia was at stake - namely that is recognized the state but not the Macedonian nation.

This finish of Macedonian-Bulgarian top level talks, announced as a contribution to the strengthening of bilateral relations, gave rise of the very diverse emotions and passions in both countries. As a result, a fourth verbal front against Macedonia was opened, after the Southern one with Greece due to the known reasons, Western with Albania due to the status of Albanians in Macedonia, and Northern one with Serbia to which Macedonia continues to be a thorn in her flesh.

Such a turn of events encouraged in the first place the pro-Bulgarian circles the activites of which, under the auspices of the largest opposition party, the VMRO-DPMNE, have been discrete up to now. On this occasion this circle which does not have any real influence in Macedonia, found for itself a suitable environment for action. The movement was first promoted by an anchorman on the Bulgarian national television by stating that there was a Bulgarian lobby in Macedonia. Accidently or not this was followed by the public appearances of the leaders of the VMRO-DPMNE with statements that the Macedonian President unnecessarily complicated things in Sophia, by refusing to sign the document containing the wording "Official languages of the two states."

After that intellectuals from the pro-Bulgarian circles came forth with articles that opened dilemmas regarding the Macedonian national identity as well as the need of intensifying contacts with Bulgaria. These writings paved the way for the establishment of a movement for Macedonian-Bulgarian cooperation in the manifest of which mention of the Macedonian nation is avoided and the stands of the official Bulgarian policy towards Macedonia emphasized. Dimitar Galev, known to the Macedonian public as a man of pro-Bulgarian orientatiron was elected chairman of the society, while the reception given on that occasion attended by Bulgarian diplomats and members of the VMRO-DPMNE, while according to speculations, the former Bulgarian prime minister was to take part in the affair.

All these events have once again been encouraged by Bulgarian official policy. The president of the Bulgarian Socialist Party advocated in a statement the "tough" clearing up of the problem Macedonia is imposing on Bulgaria with its "provocative" stands regarading the existence of the Macedonian nation.

This trend culminated in the statement of the head of the Bulgarian diplomacy who took over chairmanship of the European Council at the beginning of the month. On that occasion he stated that the acceptance of Macedonia in the CSCE is questionable due to the status of 500.000 in Macedonia. This statement, whether accidently or not, coincided with the views of Greece and Albania regarding the acceptance of Macedonia to the CSCE, the only international organization of which Macedonia is still not a member "thanks" to its neighbours.

Fortunately for Macedonia or rather unfortunately for Bulgaria, this action of Bulgarian policy and so called Bulgarian lobby did not find support in the broad Macedonian masses. However, reactions were numerous. Children's diseases of the young Macedonian state are on the horizon once again. The mass media, especially those close to the ruling nomenclature could not refrain from getting emotional and permitted themselves vulgar counter-attacks. The whole affair is naturally getting ever more complicated. In the Macedonian-Bulgarian relations, focus is once again on history instead of the future. In the overall climate that has been created the trend of the development of bilateral relations between the two countries, in the first place, in the economic fieldhas been checked. Present day vampires that have been aroused from the depths of history of the Balkan peoples are on the scene once again.

BORJAN JOVANOVSKI