The Bulgarians in Albania Need Support, They Want an Urgent Meeting with President Radev

The Bulgarian-Macedonian dispute is also being carried over to Albania. Another misunderstanding arises over the possible separation of two regions in Albania - Golo Bardo (Gollobordë) and Gora, into separate municipalities, reports BNT. The Bulgarian minority, recognized by the Parliament in Tirana in 2017, is concentrated in these areas. However, organizations close to Skopje claim that the population in these areas is Macedonian. Our compatriots demanded an urgent meeting with President Rumen Radev.

The Bulgarian community in Albania lives in the regions of Mala Prespa, Golo Bardo and Gora. They number several tens of thousands and were officially recognized as a minority by the Albanian Parliament in 2017. According to experts, our compatriots have lived there for centuries.

Now the areas of Golo Bardo and Gora are expected to be divided again into separate municipalities, which will allow the compact Bulgarian population there to more easily attract investments, prove their Bulgarian origin and seek Bulgaria's help.

"Our territory - all the roads are dirt roads, we don't have a single road with asphalt. It is very difficult to enter our territories. We don't have a single deputy. And in the municipalities we don't have a single person from our people", said the dissatisfied Hadji Pirushi from the "Prosperity" organization in Golo Bardo, Albania.

Apart from the lack of representatives in power, no official Albanian document indicates where our community lives. And it is becoming more and more difficult for our compatriots to prove their origin on the basis of their birth certificate.

"In the past, Golo Bardo was an independent municipality, that is, in the birth certificate it was written that...