Bulgaria, North Macedonia clash over Albania census

DW (English)

In the village of Pustec in southeastern Albania, Bulgaria and North Macedonia, which have historical disputes over identity and language, allegedly fought over what ethnicity locals entered in the census.

Transcript

00:00The villagers of Lichenas, or Pustes, as it is known in Macedonian, are out buying groceries.

00:06While some are bothered by our camera, this lady is happy to answer our question about her ethnic identity.

00:23The municipality of Pustes is situated on the shores of Lake Prespa in southeastern Albania.

00:28It is inhabited by ethnic Macedonians, who have been an official ethnic minority here since 1945.

00:35Albania's Bulgarian minority was only officially recognised as such in 2017.

00:40Albania's 2023 census was a highly sensitive topic in Pustes.

00:45Bulgaria and North Macedonia have long been at odds about issues relating to language, history, identity and minorities.

00:52This has led to tension between the two countries.

00:55A tension that would appear to have spilled over into Albania's 2023 census.

01:00Locals say that Bulgaria attempted to persuade members of the Macedonian minority to self-declare as ethnic Bulgarian on the census form.

01:08Eftim Metrevski, of the Macedonian Alliance for European Integration Party,

01:13works as a guide at the museum dedicated to Macedonian writer Stereos Pase, a symbol of Albania's Macedonian minority.

01:20Metrevski claims that Bulgaria intervened in the census process in Pustes.

01:50We have cooperation with the Balkan states, which are part of the European family,

01:57but not at such moments.

02:00When they come here and pretend that they are Bulgarians,

02:05the minority and the institutions of the Albanian state must stop.

02:14The local authorities deny that the Bulgarian government interfered in the census

02:18and say that such claims were invented by the media.

02:21If we receive an information, a census of a person or other citizens,

02:29we will report it to the authorities.

02:33I think that if someone has this information,

02:38they can report it to the authorities.

02:42In recent years, EU member state Bulgaria has issued passports to members of the Macedonian minority in Albania,

02:48a pragmatic choice that allows the holder to live and work freely in the EU.

02:52Many people in Pustes also drive cars with Bulgarian license plates,

02:55although car owners are reluctant to speak about it.

03:01The Bulgarian embassy in Tirana told DW that there was an unprovoked campaign

03:06against the Bulgarian national minority and the Bulgarian state

03:10by organizations of Albanian citizens who self-declare as Macedonians

03:14and many media and public figures in North Macedonia.

03:17It also said that Bulgaria did not respond to these provocations.

03:22Sociologist Maria Doice wrote her doctoral thesis on Albania's Macedonian minority

03:27during the period 2011-2017,

03:30right before the government officially recognized the Bulgarian minority.

03:34In those years, there was no indication of conflict or Bulgarian claims in this area.

03:41The population declares Macedonia as the Macedonian flag,

03:44and everything refers to this minority,

03:47as we have traditionally recognized it,

03:50the ethnic minority of Macedonia in the Cork Circle.

03:55It remains to be seen whether the people of Pustes self-declare as ethnic Macedonians

04:00or ethnic Bulgarians in the 2023 census.

04:03The results are due to be published by the Institute of Statistics in Albania on June 28.

04:11For more information, visit www.ISGlobal.org

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