Sofia Claims Kosovo's Gorani as 'Bulgarian Minority'

Bulgaria is pushing for official recognition of a Bulgarian minority in Kosovo, not only as a follow-on to the recent recognition of a Bulgarian minority in Albania, but as part of "regular state policy", the head of the State Agency for Bulgarians, Petar Haralampiev, told BIRN on Friday.

He added that on Wednesday, a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee for Bulgarians living abroad was attended by members of the Gorani community in Kosovo who claim a Bulgarian identity - for whom Bulgaria intends to claim the status of a Bulgarian ethnic minority in Kosovo.

"Bulgaria was among the first countries to recognize Kosovo as a state. We want Bulgarians in Kosovo to be recognized as a minority so we can help them live better and have better opportunities to learn their mother tongue and preserve their culture," Haralampiev said.

"Bulgaria can help Kosovo with its European integration. Kosovo can strongly benefit from Bulgaria's support," he added.

On October 13, following pressure from Bulgarian politicians and MEPs, Albania's parliament passed a Law on National Minorities recognizing nine minorities, including a Bulgarian one.

It thereby granted the communities of Bulgarian origin in the areas of Mala Prespa, Golo Bardo and Gora equal rights with other minorities in Albania. Bulgarian leaders hailed it as a "restoration of historic justice".

Haralampiev, who is a member of a minor coalition partner in the Bulgarian government, the nationalist "United Patriots", said that the Gorani living in Kosovo are "brothers, sisters, cousins and blood relatives" of the ethnic Bulgarians in Albania and deserved the same rights.

Based on talks with the alleged Bulgarian minority in Kosovo, he claimed that over 50,000 people living in the...