The investigative program “Inside Story” on the Albanian Top Channel TV broadcast an investigative story about how Bulgaria threatened Albania and interfered in the 2023 census in Albania with threats, gifts, pressure and bribes, for the assimilation of the Macedonian community in Albania.

After stating that Greece and Bulgaria threatened Albania with blocking the European integration process, he states that ” threats also put a black mark on this process, which was supposed to be based on the fulfillment of membership conditions, and not the ego of the neighboring countries to use on the back of Albania”.

– In the north, in the area of Gora, but also in Golo Brdo and Pustec, through various forms, Bulgaria exerts pressure on the citizens, asking them to declare their Bulgarian origin. Initially, the plans for the fictitious growth of the minority had a scenario of threats to official Tirana with the integration map. Today, a new strategy is being followed by distributing Bulgarian passports to Albanian citizens. A document that brings benefits as a member state of the European bloc, it is stated in the story.

In Albania, the issue of ethnicity has a high sensitivity if one considers the plans and scenarios of the neighbors to artificially increase the number of minorities. At least these pressures were constant from Greece and Bulgaria, which aimed to increase the number of their minorities as much as possible.

– Ethnicity is clearly sensitive due to the artificial pressure of two countries many times stronger like Greece and Bulgaria to produce numbers that are unrealistic said Ardit Bido, Director of the State Archives of Albania.

Due to the standard of living, the lack of infrastructure, the nine villages in which the Gorans live in Kuks are left to their mercy, without a telephone network, without the Internet, and without roads. Their only option is Kosovo, to which they turn for medical help, and from there they manage to access the Internet, which they use to communicate with the children who have emigrated. The road from Kuks to Zapod passes between the mountains on difficult, unpaved terrain and is not maintained.

Mainly economic reasons are the main reasons for applying and securing Bulgarian passports.

– Everyone’s gone, there’s nothing to do here. What will you watch? You will only find old people here, says a resident of the area of Gora.

It is pointed out that in the 11 censuses conducted in the Albanian state, in none of them does it appear that there is a Bulgarian minority in Gora and it is added that another point used by the Bulgarian state is the investments in these areas, mainly in schools with information cabinets, provision of transportation for students, didactic tools, and scholarships for studying in Bulgaria and others.

– This census was under pressure from the Bulgarian state. People from the Bulgarian state came here, they also came to Pustec, in the area of Prespa, and they also came to the area of Golo Brdo and Gora, where they exerted pressure and propaganda to change the ethnic identity, says Eftim Mitrevski, vice-president of the party Macedonian Alliance for European Integration.

On September 15, 2023, Vice President Jotova reacts after meetings with Albanian authorities, where she narrowly focuses on the census and the interest in the declaration of ethnicity by the Bulgarian minority.

– I received assurances from the highest level that the national population census in Albania will be carried out according to the highest European standards, respecting the rights of all ethnic communities, including the Bulgarian one. This is the first census since the official recognition of the Bulgarian national minority in 2017, says Jotova.

At all meetings Iliana Jotova was accompanied by Spas Tashev, a member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

On September 30, 2023, the Bulgarian professor posted photos of the census in Albania on his Facebook page. Spas Tashev continuously strives to fulfill the goal of increasing the statistics of the Bulgarian minority in Albania. At a forum in 2020, he strongly urged his country’s diplomacy to be active in Albania, as areas they claim have minorities will not be registered for Bulgarians.

He referred to a pilot census from 2019 where only one person declared himself Bulgarian in Prespa. In fact, this pilot census was held for the needs of the Statistics Office and the data was not published.

– It is strange how Bulgaria knew about the result which contained confidential data for internal use of the Statistics Office. This reveals not only an increased interest, but above all a penetration into the Albanian state structures, notices the television.

We are here in the small municipality of Pustec, where a small Macedonian minority lives he continues and reminds once upon a time, the local unit was the municipality of Liqenas. Although it did not meet the criteria to be a municipality, the former municipality of Liqenas was returned to the municipality of Pustec due to respect for the rights of minorities.

He states that “The conflict between Bulgarians and Macedonians took place in this small municipality”. The latter claim that the Bulgarian state is trying to influence citizens to declare themselves as Bulgarians. Young people have also immigrated to this area with Bulgarian passports.

– All the young people left. Now there is pressure from Bulgaria, if you don’t declare yourself Bulgarian, we will take your passports. Now people are afraid, says a resident of Pustec.

Investments from Bulgaria left a visible mark in the health center in the area, but also on the donated fire truck. The mayor states that the municipality is applying for funds not only from Bulgaria and Macedonia, but also from various countries and non-profit associations, but apparently the Bulgarian factor is imposed through investments.

– We have had several projects that are from non-governmental associations and not from the Bulgarian government. They have supported us in several projects, for example, bringing a fire truck, an ambulance, and in other things, for example, they helped equip some schools with desks, says Pali Kolefski, мayor of Pustec municipality.

Vasil Sterjovski, a former member of Albanian parliament of Macedonian origin, from the Macedonian Alliance for European Integration party, for “Inside Story” he says that Bulgaria interfered in the census in violation of the Vienna Convention. He says that electronic devices were distributed to the residents in order to register themselves as Bulgarians.

The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of the Council of Europe, page 8 points 10 and 11 says: Identification with a national minority that is motivated only by the desire to obtain special advantages or benefits, for example, may be contrary to the principles and objectives of the Framework Convention, especially if such action reduces the intended benefits and rights available to persons belonging to national minorities. Minority identity should not be imposed from outside.

– Since the census process began, we have had a brutal intervention by the Bulgarian embassy, violating the rules of the Vienna Convention. On the second day of the beginning of the census, the Bulgarian ambassador went to Trebishte in Golo Brdo. The school did not accept him. The director did not admit him to the school. The administrator did not agree to meet. Then on the street they handed out phones, they handed out tablets, they convinced people to register as Bulgarian, you will get Bulgarian citizenship. The same process continued in the Gora area. Last week the deputy ambassador together with the staff went and donated computers and did the same propaganda, emphasizes Srerjovski.

The representatives of the Macedonian minority asked the Albanian state to stop the visits of the Bulgarian representatives to the various areas where there is a Macedonian minority. They consider the presence of high-ranking Bulgarian officials an open threat, especially during the census process.

– We asked for support, first that the MFA should call the Bulgarian ambassador to tell him to stay within the diplomatic framework and not exert these pressures. Then, in the second part, we asked to monitor the intermediaries of Bulgarian passports, says Sterjovski.

One of the characters who was quite present is the nationalist Viktor Stojanov, president of the “Macedonia” foundation from Bulgaria. He had various public announcements up to threats against Albanian citizens. A month before the census began in Albania, Viktor Stojanov was in the municipality of Pustec. He posted a photo with the Bulgarian flag on his profile where he wrote “We took out the flags in Pustec, Albania”.

Even more disturbing is the fact that in his posts he showed data that should be confidential and can only be provided by the enumerators of the Statistics Office. On September 30, on his Facebook page, Viktor Stojanov published a form from the tablet about how Albanian citizens declared themselves in the census. Referring to the posts, they correspond to the same time as his visit to the Ostreni administrative unit, Bulqiza municipality. How did the Bulgarian extremist manage to have photos from the population census in Albania where citizens chose Bulgarian ethnicity? Some of the enumerators or supervisors abused their duty by extracting sensitive data and this should be investigated.

– Macedonian, for your head, for my daughter’s head, says a resident of Pustec.

The 2023 census was held for six weeks, where there was pressure from Greece and Bulgaria, what results it will give, it will take time to see, but the nationality went on the market, it was sold and bought in just one day and this was clearly seen. Difficult economic conditions, disappointment and the lack of investment made citizens hesitate in ethnic self-declaration.

Regardless of the scenarios, fictitious minority growth games, nationality can neither be bought nor sold. Albania should be a free country where Albanians and minorities and every ethnic group can live in harmony and equality as it actually happened until today. No one should be used as an instrument of malicious historical policies towards Albania, Top Channel’s investigative story ends.

©Makedonium