Bearing in mind the ethical codes of the academic community, modern scientific methods and paradigms, the autonomy of the scientific research activity, as well as the integrity of the Macedonian social, humanistic and historical sciences, the members of the academic and scientific research community from the Republic of Macedonia reject with indignation “The recommendations of the Joint Macedonian-Bulgarian multidisciplinary expert commission on historical and educational issues” and consider them pseudoscientific, for the following reasons, their reaction states.

  • The “Recommendations…” ignore the fact that “historical law” is not a recognized category in international law, and consequently – political disputes and agreements are not valid for historical issues.
  • The “Recommendations…” interpret and even revise the Macedonian and regional Balkan history in a way that has a political pretext, which is why they deviate from the principle of scientificity and ethics.
  • The political insistence to adopt bilateral recommendations for a history that has a multilateral and unilateral character, so it cannot be officialized as a “joint” Bulgarian-Macedonian history, represents a violation of the reference paradigm of the humanities.
  • Under the guise of reciprocity, the “Recommendations…” promote a method of arbitrary and biased interpretation of historical facts, persons, events and processes that are significant for multiple peoples, cultures, states and eras.
  • In these “Recommendations…”, Macedonian, South Slavic, General Slavic and Balkan history are interpreted in a Bulgarian-centric way, thereby deviating from established scientific knowledge in Macedonian, Slavic and Balkan studies.
  • The “Recommendations…” discriminate against the accepted and scientifically based narrative of the cultural, national and political history of Macedonia, advocated by Macedonian and other scholars of international reputation.
  • Although the history of Macedonia and the Macedonians is multidimensional and includes several historical eras and civilizational constellations (ancient, medieval, modern, contemporary), in the “Recommendations…” entire eras of national, regional and international importance are marginalized.
  • In the context of Macedonian history, Macedonia can and should be studied, culturally, thematically and methodologically, in several ways: as a territory (geopolitically), as a state, as a nation that has its own developmental cultural and political continuum – from ethnos to Macedonian political nation and an internationally recognized legal entity.

  • Macedonian history represents the sovereign interest of the Republic of Macedonia, just as the history of Bulgaria is the primary interest of the Bulgarian state, so it should retain the right to its own scientific and official interpretation.

Because of all this, we consider them null and irrelevant for our further scientific research activity, the so-called. “Recommendations for the joint commemoration of historical figures” of the “Joint Multidisciplinary Expert Commission on Historical and Educational Affairs adopted by the Joint Intergovernmental Commission…” reads the written reaction signed by a hundred scientists.