Any dictatorship that bans literature is doomed
A Whiff Of History Forlorn
Bosilegrad (Serbian Cyrillic: Босилеград; Bulgarian: Босилеград) is a town and municipality located in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia.
Historically, Bosilegrad was part of Bulgaria. On May 15, 1917, Serbian paramilitaries (Chetniks) under the command of Kosta Pećanac crossed the old Bulgarian border and, as part of the Toplica Uprising, they captured Bosilegrad, which they then burned to the ground. Then Pećanac and his band withdrew to Kosovo, which was controlled by the Austro-Hungarian Army.
On November 8, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. in the hall of the "Bosilegrad" Cultural Information Centre (CIC), another commemorative evening was to be held, at which, among other things, Edwin Sugarev's book "Elegy for the End - The Fate of the Bulgarians in the Western Regions" was to be presented.
Here is the personal account of Ivan Nikolov, the chair of the Bulgarian Cultural and Information Center “Bosilegrad” of the events that happened that evening.
“In connection with preliminary proceedings initiated the previous day by the High Court in Vranya against me as the chairman of the "Bosilegrad" CIC, at 2:10 p.m., 8 civilian police officers from the Vranya Police Department burst into the CIC under the pretext of looking for clues and items important for criminal proceedings under Art. 317, para. 1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Serbia, inciting national, racial and religious hatred and intolerance.
The order further states that "at the beginning of July 2023, the importation of the mentioned book was prohibited because it contained materials against the interests of the Republic of Serbia, that is, separatist and secessionist opinions that discredit the holders of power in the Republic of Serbia and Security Information Agency (editor’s note: SIA, commonly referred as BIA in Serbia)"!?
Following a comprehensive investigation of the Center's facilities, 23 copies of Edwin Sugarev's book were seized.
Simultaneously, at the "Ribartsi - Oltomantsi" checkpoint (editor’s note: at the Bulgarian-Serbian border), the author of the book, Edwin Sugarev, the co-chairman of the Cultural Centre "Western Regions" Dr. Valentin Yanev, the co-chairman of VMRO Alexander Sidi, and Mrs. Maria Tsvetkova, former MP of the National Assembly (editor’s note: of the Republic of Bulgaria), who traveled to Bosilegrad to participate in the commemorative evening and presentation of the book, were detained and returned to Bulgaria. Another automobile used by Bulgarian citizens to drive to the book presentation was also returned.
The situation was promptly communicated to the General Consulate in Nis and the Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria in Belgrade, Petko Doikov, who were both on their way to Bosilegrad.
Despite the difficult circumstances created by a noticeably heightened police presence on the streets of Bosilegrad, the memorial evening was held in a half-empty auditorium in the presence of General Consul and Ambassador Doikov. The fundamental historical circumstances that led to the seizure of the Western Regions were remembered once more, and the "Last word of the citizens of Bosilegrad" of October 15, 1919, sent by a rally of thousands in Bosilegrad to the president of the Paris Conference, Georges Clemenceau, was repeated.
The book "Elegy for the End - The Fate of the Bulgarians in the Western Regions" by famous Bulgarian poet, politician, and diplomat Edwin Sugarev is a critical look at the tragic lot of the Bulgarians in the Western Regions, about his observations on events and personalities during his four-year diplomatic stay in Nis.
The incident surrounding the search of the CIC's facilities and the confiscation of Sugarev's book by Serbian authorities only verifies the accuracy of the book's allegations and evaluations. In truth, nothing in the book hasn't already been expressed or written somewhere else or on another time. The author derives his own findings using sources and personal observations.
Serbia's authorities instilled obsessive concerns about ethnic minorities in Serbian society, believing they undermined the basis of Serbian statehood. Aside from these worries and persecution of fictitious adversaries, they are attempting to organize Serbian society around their notion of establishing an ethnically pure state.
Worryingly, Serbia is indoctrinated with a neurotic dread of Bulgaria and Bulgarians, particularly of raising the issue of responsibility for the plight of Serbia's Bulgarian minority.
However, annihilating a hundred thousand Bulgarians in a century is no laughing matter. When we consider the responsibility for the establishment of Macedonianism as an anti-Bulgarian ideology, it is apparent that the designers of this anti-Bulgarian strategy in Belgrade have no way back, but they also have no route forward. That is why they want to stifle everyone who thinks, speaks, or writes about the issue.
Prohibiting and burning books, as well as harassing poets, journalists, and intellectuals, is not the path for Serbia to progress toward contemporary European status. This was typical of the Middle Ages, the Inquisition, and Nazism beginning in the 1930s. Serbia would undoubtedly share their destiny if it decides to follow in their footsteps. /BGNES
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Ivan Nikolov is the chair of the Bulgarian Cultural and Information Center in Bosilegrad. His analysis and personal account of the events was written by Mr. Nikolov, exclusively for BGNES.
