North Macedonia’s Blockade on Book Donation Riles Bulgaria

North Macedonia has defended its decision to stop a shipment of 920 copies of a Bulgarian book intended for a Bulgarian cultural centre in Skopje, after Bulgaria on Sunday sent a protest note. The books were not allowed across the Deve Bair border crossing between the two countries at the weekend.

Denying politics played a role in the row, the Customs Office of North Macedonia said one of the two required signatures needed for the books to be exempt from paying tax was missing.

"The request for exemption from taxes was accompanied by an agreement on a donation signed by just one party, the sender of the books, but not by the receiver [the Bulgarian Cultural and Information Centre in Skopje], which makes the agreement legally null," the Customs Office said on Sunday.

Earlier that day, the Bulgarian Embassy in Skopje sent a protest note to North Macedonia's Foreign Ministry, .

One copy of Bulgarian folk songs from the Miladinov Brothers was transported by a Bulgarian citizen, Viktor Stoyanov, who according to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry showed a donation agreement under which the books were able to be delivered to the cultural centre in Skopje.

"Obviously they [the North Macedonia's authorities], do not want … these books to be there and for people to read them," Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva told the Bulgarian media on Sunday, adding: "They [North Macedonia] must stop their campaign against Bulgaria."

The book in question is a collection of songs gathered by the famous 19th century brothers, revered scholars and poets Konstantin and Dimitar Miladinov, from the town of Struga, now in North Macedonia. The brothers are celebrated as national heroes in both countries.

Reflecting the ongoing...