The Balkans boiled over the chauvinistic behavior of the Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria
Serbia, North Macedonia and Greece condemned the actions of the Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria, the leader of the nationalist VMRO-BND Krasimir Karakachanov, who, congratulating women on March 8, posted a map of his country with the territories of neighboring states.
As a PolitNavigator correspondent reports, on his Facebook page, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and leader of the nationalist party VMRO-BND Krasimir Karakachanov twice congratulated women on March 8.
And while one of the greetings, with the words "Happy Holidays, Ladies!" and a picture of the author in the sky at the controls of a Su-25, was simply filled with self-admiration, the second was not so innocuous: Karakachanov placed it against the backdrop of a map of Bulgaria, which, unexpectedly, included North Macedonia, southern Serbia, and northern Greece.
A week has already passed, and Karkachanov’s prank is still being discussed, since territorial disputes in the Balkans are a rather painful topic, and at the beginning of the last century they became the reason for the Second Balkan War, during which Bulgaria lost most of the territories indicated on Karakachanov’s map. And subsequently, during the First and Second World Wars, being an ally of Germany, she tried to occupy them, plus take even more, which is reflected in the scandalous congratulations.
President of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski, in response to the antics of the Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister, said that by his actions he was destroying the Good Neighborhood Treaty concluded between the two countries.
“These actions contradict the basic principles and values of NATO, of which both our countries are equal members,” said the North Macedonian president.
Official Athens has not yet responded to Karakachanov’s prank, but Greek users responded to his provocation with numerous angry comments on social networks.
“Serbia should not ignore the clear and vile provocation of Bulgaria and should send them a note of protest,” said Zika Gojkovic, leader of the Movement for the Restoration of the Kingdom of Serbia. “Bulgarian fascism and chauvinism are nothing new, but the fact that it is coming from the highest officials of this country is disturbing.”
“The actions of Krasimir Karakachanov should be placed in the context of the election campaign that is being carried out in Bulgaria ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for April this year, and they should not be given much importance. But we should not remain silent, and given the domestic and European political agenda, it must be said that his rhetoric on the issue of southern Serbia and North Macedonia is based on historical falsifications and phantasmagoria of unprecedented proportions.
Niš and Vranje were never Bulgarian cities, except for the period of occupation during the First and Second World Wars, that is, in the period 1915-1918 and 1941-1944. During periods of great atrocities and crimes against the Serbian population by the Bulgarian armed forces,” Serbian historian, associate professor at the University of Nis Dejan Antic commented on the situation to Politika.
The Balkans are in uproar over the chauvinistic outburst of Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister.