Row over identity... Bulgaria confronts UNESCO

In Belgrade, the Bulgarian National Museum of History, few days ago, raised issue over an exhibition titled Identity and Memory in the XIXth Century to protest the organisers, UNESCO Regional Office's “forgeries” in the content of the exhibits.

The UNESCO office, which is based in Venice, Italy has been faulted over captions of the exhibits, which the Bulgarian authority regarded as undermining the country’s true identity.
The controversial captions that brought about the row was tagged ‘Bulgarian historical figure Gotse Delchev Macedonian”. 

Georgi Nikolov Delchev (1872–1903)

Bulgarian government explained: "It is the practice of Skopje provocation and falsification of Bu ir Karakacanov from the Bulgarian National Movement". The Bulgarian authority, according to a news agency argued that the  fact that Skopje is claiming that the related documents are written in Macedonian instead of Bulgarian is as funny as if they would claim that they are written in Chinese.

Sources say Gotse Delchev was an important revolutionary figure in the Ottoman ruled Bulgaria -Macedonia at the turn of the 20th century. Delchev considered himself to be an inheritor of the Bulgarian revolutionary traditions and is considered as a national hero in Bulgaria. However, he is also claimed to be among the founders of the Macedonian national movement.

The government, according to an online medium Focus News Agency stated; “Regional bureau of UNESCO in Venice has asked for the texts, which do not correspond to the truth, placed under two of the exhibits at the exhibition in Belgrade – a portrait of Gotse Delchev and the flag of the Krusevo Republic, to be removed”. Bozhidar Dimitrov, Director of the Bulgarian National Museum of History”. announced for FOCUS News Agency.