For some time now, I have been seeing Bulgarian-Macedonian relations going to a dead end, and from there to a new escalation at all levels, which could lead to long-standing hatred between the two peoples. For this reason, I make the following suggestion – a kind of roadmap or action plan to get out of the situation. Usually I write and speak on this topic as a reader of history, but this time my proposal has a political-diplomatic meaning.
1. Northern Macedonia to give guarantees that there are no claims to Eastern Macedonia. To announce that the name Northern Macedonia does not include Eastern Macedonia. Looking from Skopje, Pirin Macedonia has always been to the east of us.
2. Northern Macedonia to give guarantees, most likely for the 6th time in a row, three times to Greece and for the third time especially to Bulgaria, that as a country with nothing and in no way will support and support organizations seeking Macedonian minority in neighboring Bulgaria.
3. The Bulgarian Parliament to adopt a declaration stating that the terms Macedonian nation and Macedonian language refer only to the nation and language created after 1944 and that Bulgaria does not accept the theses that they are false and that it supports the Bulgarian historiography in defense of its truth. / This thesis in Bulgaria may be perceived as a political game, but it is not so, I offer something that is part of the Serbian strategy, how they solve their problems. Namely, Serbia has exactly the same problem with the Croatian language, with the Bosnian and Montenegrin nation and languages, and even with the Macedonian nation and language. Politically, Serbia has recognized the four nations and languages, including on its own territory. Croatian, Montenegrin, Bosnian and Macedonian are official languages in several Serbian municipalities. But, Serbian science and historiography, as well as linguistics, do not acknowledge this fact and fight arguments on a daily basis. The same story is with Macedonia. Politicians give maximum support to the Macedonian nation and language, but at the same time they publish books every year claiming that Macedonia is in fact Old Serbia, how they liberated Macedonia during the Balkan wars. Books about Serbian monasteries and churches from the Middle Ages have been published, and it seems that they are not few. Not to mention the Serbian Orthodox Church, for which we are pure Serbs, and it seems that the BOC supports their intentions. in which it is claimed that Macedonia is in fact Old Serbia, how they liberated Macedonia during the Balkan wars. Books about Serbian monasteries and churches from the Middle Ages have been published, and it seems that they are not few. Not to mention the Serbian Orthodox Church, for which we are pure Serbs, and it seems that the BOC supports their intentions. in which it is claimed that Macedonia is in fact Old Serbia, how they liberated Macedonia during the Balkan wars. Books about Serbian monasteries and churches from the Middle Ages have been published, and it seems that they are not few. Not to mention the Serbian Orthodox Church, for which we are pure Serbs, and it seems that the BOC supports their intentions.
4. The Joint Historical Commission needs to change its strategy a bit:
– To announce all five already confirmed personalities plus Delchev as common, without going into details. And also Grigor Parlichev, for whom we first agreed and then the Bulgarian side withdrew.
– To determine another 10 or 15 events that are common without very large texts and explanations, and to start celebrating together. Maybe 115, but then politicians will have to go from celebration to celebration.
– The Bulgarian side to prepare in the fastest way a list of the writings in the Macedonian textbooks that are offensive to them and to delete them quickly without any discussion.
– To create a new special commission, which in the fastest way to reveal the persecution and murder of the Macedonians with Bulgarian national consciousness. According to Bulgarian sources, it is about 30,000 killed and 120,000 abused. But even if there are 1,200, democracy must declare it.
– The Macedonian side should be obliged in all history books, regardless of whether they are published by the state or a private publisher, to give the correct translation, especially where the writers wrote Macedonians or Bulgarians. Any falsification must be financially sanctioned.
– Macedonian historiography to correct and give the real names of the institutions, for example the People’s Federal Party ???
– Macedonian historiography to fill in the important biographical moments from the life of the great personalities. For example, it is not insignificant that we hide that Gotse, Dame, Gjorche and hundreds of others were teachers of the Bulgarian Exarchate.
– Finally, I have a proposal with which we can solve the language problem. The Macedonian side should admit that the whole Macedonian Revival tried to create a common language with Bulgarian, but on the basis of Macedonian dialects, but the Bulgarian intelligentsia due to short-sightedness codified its language only on the basis of northwestern dialects, which paved the way for Macedonian linguistics. , and this gave Serbian linguists reason to claim that the Shoppe dialects in Bulgaria are Serbian. The official alphabet and language of all Macedonian organizations during the Ottoman period were the Bulgarian language and alphabet. These are easily verifiable facts. And the Bulgarian side to accept that this is a good approach to ending the language issue.
5. Infrastructure issues. The Macedonian side to give a concession to the railway line of the Bulgarian railways with calculated additional profit for its completion. The Bulgarian side to build the roads to the border checkpoint Klepalo, which for 20 years has both a road and a border building and to the border checkpoint “Black Rock”, where the road between Delchevo and Kyustendil was built, but eventually destroyed.
The Macedonian side as a gift to Bulgaria to build a second lane on the road Delchevo – Blagoevgrad, where people wait for hours for each holiday.