Gjorgiev for the World Cup: The Bulgarians refused a mediator at the beginning, we did not offer them anymore
According to Dragi Gjorgiev, co-chair of the Macedonian-Bulgarian joint commission on the Macedonian side, Bulgarians are not interested in a mediator who would help make progress in the commission. They refused at the beginning, and the topic was not reopened.
- At the first meeting of the commission, we proposed to include experts, not historians, but more textbook experts who have experience in how to overcome various symbolic-narrative disputes in textbooks, but it was immediately rejected by the Bulgarian side. Those mediators should have been representatives of both parties, and Macedonia and Bulgaria should have had the obligation to cooperate with them, to jointly pay them a fee for the engagement, etc. Bulgaria refused with the explanation that there is no need for mediators, facilitators, etc., and that we will talk only to the two sides, because the others do not know the problem in detail. After that we no longer tried to propose a third party - says Gjorgiev for "Free Press".
He adds that the Macedonian side in a certain period had two advisors for the textbooks, who were not part of the commission, but only collaborators.
- We consulted with them about where we are wrong, what approach in the textbooks should be accepted, what to improve in the work and not only for the textbooks, but in the whole commission. but they were not part of the commission, but only collaborators - says Gjorgiev.
Three days ago, MEP Andreas Schieder proposed to invite eminent foreign historians to the joint commission to get out of the deadlock in which Macedonia and Bulgaria found themselves on historical issues.
- I have a suggestion for the joint commission if its work remains stuck as it is now. Maybe we should invite two or three eminent EU historians who are not involved in the region to help put the issue in a scientific context - said Schider at a press briefing, MIA reports.
The government told Sloboden Pecat that any proposal that would improve the work was welcome, but that it was best to decide whether a mediator was needed or not.
