Nikos Kotzias: The attitude of Bulgarian chauvinism in the Macedonian issue«

Below is the article by Nikos Kotzias

The Stance of Bulgarian Chauvinism on the «Macedonian» Issue»

A serious problem has arisen in our region due to the chauvinistic stirring up of the Macedonian issue by extreme nationalists in Bulgaria. These are either outright far-right figures, such as the current Minister of Defense, or other Bulgarian politicians who wish to bolster their election campaigns and personal agendas. «Paradoxically,» some in Athens «admire» the far-right in Sofia and demand that Greece follow their example and submit to their choices! For example, we should support the Bulgarian demand that the occupation of what was then southern Yugoslavia not be characterized as a «fascist occupation.» Those circles that «admire» the Bulgarian far right should tell us whether Greece, too, must stop considering the Bulgarian fascist occupation during World War II as an occupation.

Let me remind you that the «Macedonian» issue began as an intra-Slavic dispute. The ruling (and historically foolish) leadership in Greece managed to turn it into a dispute between Greece and the Slavic Macedonians / Yugoslavia. Some Athens-based publications, it seems, wish to repeat this folly.

With the Prespa Agreement, Greece resolved the issue. An agreement that the diplomatic establishment in Sofia literally «envied.» And this despite the fact that they were the first to sign a «Friendship Pact» with North Macedonia. Today, pro-Turkish elements in Bulgaria believe that the Prespa Agreement has robbed them of part of their «chauvinistic narrative.» As the second troublemaker in the region, they are setting two new conditions for North Macedonia’s path toward the EU.

The first prerequisite is for the North Macedonians to accept that they are Bulgarians. They have failed to recognize the emergence during the 20th century of a new Slavic nation, the Slavic Macedonians. The latter, following the Prespa Agreement and the constitutional changes that have taken place, have become part of a multi-ethnic state that is creating a new «nation of nations» (such as Spain’s) comprising Slavic Macedonians, Albanians, Vlachs, and others. Contrary to historical developments and reality, Bulgarian chauvinists live out of touch with time and place. They still live in the era of the interwar Communist International. They have also lost their sense of historical perspective, since Bulgarian fascism—due to the brutal occupation of the region of present-day North Macedonia during World War II— led to Bulgaria’s definitive alienation from the Slavic Macedonians and gave further impetus to the birth of a new nation. It is, in fact, a historical audacity for some in today’s democratic Bulgaria to unhesitatingly invoke the arguments of Bulgarian barbaric fascism at the expense of the Slavic Macedonians. It is certainly foolish of some in Athens to support such views.

Ignoring historical realities, the chauvinism stemming from the dark years of the Bulgarian occupation seeks to label the Slavic Macedonians as Bulgarians once again. It remains stuck in the era of blood-basedgenetic definitions of nations and has failed to realize that nations today are cultural and political entities with specific rights regarding their own institutional systems. He has failed to understand that the overwhelming majority of Slavic Macedonians, and even more so that no Albanian in North Macedonia or Vlach with a Greek identity would ever accept being considered Bulgarian.

The foolishness of some in Sofia is compounded by the foolishness of the so-called ’Macedonian activists’ in Athens, who have forgotten that the true Macedonian fighters fought primarily against Bulgarian chauvinism, while later Greece fought against the Bulgarian occupations, with which a large part of the political-historical camp—which regarded the Prespa Agreement as a betrayal—collaborated. It surrendered the Fourth Army Corps in Kavala without a fight, along with all its weaponry, in the middle of World War I, during which 60,000 Greek civilians were led to their deaths in Eastern Macedonia, and another 20,000 died in exile in Bulgaria as part of the latter’s effort to eradicate the Greek presence from the region.

It is indeed quite striking that, once again, the «ultra-patriots» of Athens wish to align themselves with extreme Bulgarian chauvinism. They argue alongside it that a new nation must not be recognized as such, but that, on the contrary, we must all stand together in support of Bulgarian chauvinism. The latter has always advocated for the creation of a second Bulgarian state—as it had hoped FYROM would become—and then to swallow it up. The so-called «Macedonian fighters» in Athens, therefore, instead of highlighting the Bulgarian vetoes, would do well to tell us whether they support “Greater Bulgaria” —and indeed with Greek consent—and whether they intend to allow certain parties to once again harbor fascist dreams regarding Greek territories that their political family surrendered twice to what was then fascist Bulgaria. Let them also tell us whether they wish for North Macedonia’s airspace to be controlled not by Greece, as is the case today, but by Bulgaria—and why not by Turkey as well.

There is, however, another claim made by Bulgarian chauvinism that is supported by the so-called «Macedonian activists.» They argue that Slavic Macedonian is not a distinct language, but rather Bulgarian. It is not a South Slavic language, which was originally formed from elements of Serbian, Bulgarian, Turkic, Vlach, and Greek elements and subsequently developed its own independent trajectory, but that it is «simply» a Bulgarian dialect. And here, our Bulgarian friends have fallen far behind. Languages and nations are constantly being reshaped and differentiated over time. No one today disputes that the Austrian nation is distinct from the German nation, or that the Scandinavian nations (Denmark, Sweden, and Norway) now have three distinct languages and their respective roots, despite their common Scandinavian origin. This applies almost identically to the Slavic languages as well. We all know, too, that books from the U.S. that are translated into European languages no longer cite «English» as the source language when referring to the original, but rather “from American English,” because more and more differences are gradually emerging between these two linguistic variants. Moreover, the American nation—comprising U.S. citizens—cannot be equated with that of the British or even the English. The same is true of New Zealanders, Australians, and Canadians.

The issue is that some people in Bulgaria, driven by a medieval-style sense of superiority, wish to create new problems in the Balkans and in North Macedonia’s path toward the European Union. Issues that are resolved through the course of events and/or through scientific research and consultation cannot be imposed by presidential decrees and acts of peaceful foreign policy.

The issue is also that some on the Greek side, instead of embracing North Macedonia, instead of resisting the Greater Bulgarian chauvinism for which both the Greek people and the Greek land have paid such a heavy price, blinded by their anti-Prespa fervor, support a policy that our Macedonian opponents crushed politically and militarily 120 years ago.