There are no Bulgarians in Albania! There are only Macedonians and our deracinated Government is giving them up, said VMRO-DPMNE Vice President Aleksandar Nikoloski, after reports that Bulgarian Vice President Iliyana Yotova plans to open a Sunday school in Bulgarian in the city of Elbasan. Bulgaria is more assertive in claiming the Macedonians in Albania as their own minority, and is distributing Bulgarian citizenships to those interested – often poor families who want to tap the EU labour market.

Instead of implementing the court orders of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg which calls on Bulgaria to recognize the Macedonians and their right to assemble and use the Macedonian language, Bulgaria is looking for non-existent Bulgarians in Albania. It’s buying the souls of this long suffering people, who live in extreme poverty, giving them Bulgarian passports so they can move to richer EU countries. That is the truth!, Nikoloski said.