What kind of people are we Balkans, what kind of morals do we have. When does the limit of Balkan patience cross in order to rise up in protests. Like those in Serbia. And what is it to be a shopaholic… Prof. Dr. Ana Kocheva from the Institute of Bulgarian Language at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), a specialist in Bulgarian dialectology and linguistic geography, spoke in front of FACT
- Prof. Kocheva, how many Serbian dialects do you know?
- (Smiles) I guess why you are asking me this question.
- No, you don't. I'm sure... - Okay, let's see. I can think of at least three groups right away - Shtokavian, Kajkavian and Chakavian.
- Then what dialects do people in Serbia and the authorities speak that they can't understand each other? We are witnessing huge protests in Serbia... - (Smiles) I don't believe that the misunderstanding is because of the dialects.
- I don't believe it either, but where does the thread break... We are witnessing numerous protests on the streets of Belgrade, they even reached Novi Sad... - For me, the problem is both political and generational, but they are also related. In linguistic terms, it's not even about different dialects, but about different slang. On the one hand, there are the young people - with their youth slang, and on the other side are the authorities with their narrative that is most likely left in the past, because in fact, recently the two generations have not been able not only to understand each other, but also to shake hands, and most likely to continue living together in the same way.
- When does the Balkans get angry? It is clear that we Balkans are patient, but when does the limit of patience run out…
- When we talk about the fact that the Balkans are patient – let me not be a bad prophet, but I am starting to think that perhaps the Bulgarians are the most patient in this regard. And not that I am calling on everyone to stand up and rise together… But what we see happening recently – first in Romania – on the occasion of the presidential elections, which were compromised, then the protests in other Balkan countries, where they are indignant at the prices in large chains, because they are becoming increasingly unaffordable - are indicative facts. But, yes, in Serbia we are witnessing more than large-scale protests. For me, the root cause is not only the incident in Novi Sad, when the visor fell and people lost their lives. It is deeper, it is not only negligence and corruption.
- But the fact that no one took responsibility angered people. 15 people died, and the authorities are passing the “ball” among themselves. This has crossed the line of patience….
- Let me think that this is on the surface. It gave rise to it. There has been a rift between the people and the rulers in Serbia for a long time. The people in Serbia have wanted the country to become a full member of the European Union for a long, long time. We hear how Vučić officially claims that Serbia should be part of the EU, but in fact, he is doing everything possible to prevent this from happening. And what happened in Novi Sad simply lit the fuse. But I don't think it's just that the dog is buried there.
- In this sense, we are also patient with the Republic of North Macedonia, but should we be like that…
- I wouldn't say that we are patient with our relations with the Republic of North Macedonia, because we no longer have bilateral relations with them, as far as their membership in the EU is concerned. These relations are bilateral with regard to the Treaty on Good Neighborhood and Cooperation. It contains important clauses related to our bilateral relations, which our neighbor "fails" to fulfill: in relation to our compatriots and their official status, in relation to overcoming hate speech, etc. These are unresolved issues to this day. There are other things, and they are related to the declassification of files, to the change of textbooks. It is no coincidence that I connect them, because the declassification of files will shed light on the past, and textbooks in this regard also have room to change. Because the past, if you will, both the most distant and the closest, are not read correctly in the Republic of North Macedonia. They are often shrouded in a mystification, especially ugly towards the closest neighbor, which is the Republic of Bulgaria. The manipulations are related to the ugly face of Macedonianism, of course. Today, the abundant fruits of Macedonianism continue to be harvested. This idea, of course, is also related to the Serbian doctrine. So we should not be surprised that today, especially those in power in the Republic of North Macedonia feel better in the so-called Serbian world.
- Are there forces that want North Macedonia not to move towards the EU. What do you think?
- I suspect that the conduits of these forces are the rulers of the Republic of North Macedonia themselves. Because they have already openly stated more than once or twice that they will not comply with the pre-accession framework. Things are spelled out very clearly there, but enough time has passed for their implementation to begin. Well, they are not being implemented and there is not the slightest intention to implement them. There has been talk of changing these conditions, of attempts to change the inclusion of Bulgarians in the Statute, which should take place at the very beginning of the pre-accession stage, to move it towards its end, etc. All things that I do not see how they will be renegotiated with the EU, because these talks are already closed.
- Recently, scientists from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences reacted sharply to the increasing speculation in Serbia about the idea of a Shopsian “nation”. What irritated you...?
- We are not irritated by this thesis now, because it is very, very old. We reacted rather because this semi-finished product is connected with the fate of our compatriots in the Western Suburbs. You know that in Tsaribrodsko, in Bosilegradsko lives a compact mass of Bulgarian population, which, thank God, is officially recognized as a Bulgarian minority in Serbia. I say officially, because unofficially everything possible is being done to make their life as bitter as possible. To be economically in an extremely difficult and disadvantageous situation, to have healthcare below any acceptable human level, to also maintain education at a low level. And on top of all that I have listed, which determines the difficult fate of our compatriots there, the thesis of the existence of a “Shopski language“ and “Shopski nation“ in these places is once again being launched. That is, you see, these people are speakers of the Shopian language, which is neither Serbian nor Bulgarian for now. They are Shopians and therefore are not part of the Bulgarian linguistic and ethnic space. This is the intermediate phase. And at a later point they can be produced into straight Serbs. If they continue to oppose, because they have invariably done so and are doing so at the moment, the people in these areas will continue to be harassed, and in the end they will be depopulated by virtue of the most common set of circumstances - the exodus of Bulgarians from these lands.