Although the opening of cultural centers everywhere in the democratic world is a step towards bringing peoples and their cultures closer, the naming of cultural institutions according to a proven collaborator of the fascist regime from World War II does not serve that noble cause, Macedonian President Stevo Pendarovski said after yesterday’s opening of the “Vancho Mihajlov VMRO” club in Bitola.
“Without disputing the good intention of Prime Minister Petkov, yesterday in Bitola, the Bulgarian delegation included two representatives of the former government in Sofia who were the most vocal opponents of Macedonia’s path to Europe. Their very presence and statements minimized the messages of good neighborliness and cooperation sent by the Bulgarian Prime Minister. In 2017, the idea to form a commission composed of historians was to find a compromise on historical events and personalities that should be jointly celebrated by both the Macedonian and Bulgarian people. Unfortunately, yesterday in Bitola an attempt was made to present a proven collaborator of the Hitler Nazi regime as a bridge of rapprochement between the two countries. am sure that neither the Macedonian nor the Bulgarian people believe that the life and work of Vancho Mihajlov can contribute in that direction,” reads the written statement of President Pendarovski.
