site.btaCultural Information Centre "Bosilegrad" Celebrates Its 26th Anniversary

The Cultural Information Centre (CIC) "Bosilegrad" celebrated on Friday night the 26th anniversary of its establishment. The celebration took place in the lounge of the center in the presence of the Bulgarian Ambassador to Serbia Petkov Doykov, guests from the Embassy, the Consulate General in Nis, from Bulgaria and local residents.

"We are celebrating 26 years since we opened the branch of the then Cultural Information Centre "Tsaribrod" in Bosilegrad, which later became the Cultural Information Centre "Bosilegrad", in this hall in the presence of the highest government officials of the Republic of Bulgaria. We established the CIC in the terrible conditions of the civil war, with the noble goals to restore and develop Bulgarian culture and writing among the Bulgarians in the Western Outlands, to preserve the Bulgarian identity, said at the beginning of the event the chairman of CIC "Bosilegrad" Ivan Nikolov.

Nikolov recalled that the very next day after the establishment of the centre, the official press attacked them with accusations that the establishment of the CIC "is the biggest Bulgarian provocation in the last 50 years, creating an institutional framework for secession and violation of the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia". "Unfortunately, this mantra is repeated today", Nikolov said.

Bulgaria's Ambassador in Belgrade Petko Doykov congratulated Ivan Nikolov and his team for their dedication in their work and the efforts they make on a daily basis.

"Our country will continue to make every effort to ensure that the rights of the Bulgarian national minority in Serbia are fully respected," Ambassador Doykov further said. He pointed out that progress has also been made in the field of mother tongue education.