Ethnic Bulgarian group’s name stirs anger in North Macedonia

By KONSTANTIN TESTORIDES
Associated Press

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Left-wing supporters and nationalists in North Macedonia both have voiced anger at an ethnic Bulgarian association’s move to name itself after a Bulgarian monarch who is deeply resented for his country’s role in World War II. Relations between the Balkan neighbors are poor, largely due to disagreements over regional history and culture. Those disputes have led Bulgaria to block North Macedonia’s bid to join the European Union. Hundreds of people protested Friday in North Macedonia’s southern town of Ohrid against the opening of the cultural club named after King Boris III. The monarch reigned from 1918 to 1943 and oversaw Bulgaria’s allying itself with Axis powers during World War II.