Serbia turns back head of Bulgarian 'Western Outlands' institute at border
Angel Dzhonev was traveling to an anniversary of the Bulgarian cultural center in Bosilegrad. The entry ban cited a 'threat to national security,' BTA reported.
Archive image · Photo: Vassia Atanassova - Spiritia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Serbian authorities refused entry to Angel Dzhonev, chairman of the Bulgarian research institute Western Outlands, on Saturday. He said he was held for about an hour at the Ribarci border crossing before being handed an entry ban, which according to BTA news agency cited a threat to national security.
Dzhonev was heading to Bosilegrad for the 28th anniversary of the town's Bulgarian Cultural and Information Center. Valentin Yanev, a member of the institute's board, was turned back at the Serbian border twice, in August and September. Dzhonev said he had also been refused entry three times under Slobodan Milosevic. The Western Outlands, in southeastern Serbia, are home to an ethnic Bulgarian minority; Bulgaria lost the area under the 1919 Treaty of Neuilly.
Dzhonev linked the move to upcoming elections in Serbia and said he expects a serious response from Bulgarian authorities, warning that such actions could harm the community and bilateral relations. Neither BNT nor BTA reported any official reaction from Sofia or Belgrade.