The body of Goce Delcev, which was kept in Sofia for decades after his death in 1903, was delivered to Macedonia after the Second World War. Delcev rested in the village of Banica, where he was killed in battle against the Ottoman forces, between 1903 and 1917. The body was then carried to Sofia by his comrade Mihail Cakov, who kept it in his home until 1923, and eventually had the body displayed in the St. Nedelya church in a carved sarcophagus.

In October 1946, the post-war Communist authorities in Bulgaria adopted a policy of thawing their relations with Macedonia, and recognized the Macedonian nation and state – albeit it was only as part of then Yugoslavia. On October 10th 1946, Bulgaria returned Delcev’s body to Macedonia, in accordance with his will that he resides in the capital of the Macedonian state.

We proposed that October 8th, the day when the procession of Delcev’s body started in Sofia, is declared a day of friendship between Macedonia and Bulgaria. It was deliberately carried through Pirin Maceodnia on its way to Skopje, says professor Vanco Gjeorgjiev, who was member of the joint historic commission between Macedonia and Bulgaria, until he resigned recently due to political pressure.

This move is now considered a major mistake in Bulgaria – the political right accuses the left of betrayal, as the return of the body practically recognized the existence of the Macedonian nation and that Goce Delcev belongs to Macedonia. Bulgaria dramatically changed its policy toward Macedonia in the subsequent Todor Zivkov regime, and his policy of denial of the Macedonian nation is at the core of the current dispute.