The leading Macedonian newspaper "Utrinski Vesnik" published Thursday an editorial which claims that Bulgaria was preparing an all-out campaign to bring Macedonian state down to its knees over history disputes.

The article entitled "Sofia's Offensive against Macedonia" cites the Speaker of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry Dimitar Tsanchev, who said Wednesday that Bulgaria's support for Macedonia's Euro-Atlantic integration was not unconditional, and it had to "take account of the historical, cultural, and other realities related to the geographic region of Macedonia".

The author of the editorial declares that the book "Bulgaria's Policy towards Macedonia", presented in Sofia on Monday, was an outright anti-Macedonia propaganda tool, which also supports Greece's position in the name dispute.

According to the author, the book, which states that some 30 000 people were shot and 120 000 were jailed in Macedonia after 1945 by the Yugoslav communist authorities because they declared themselves Bulgarians, was a compilation of lies.

The editorial blames Bulgaria for deliberately starting an anti-Macedonian campaign at the moment when Macedonia was expecting an invitation to join NATO and a date for the beginning of its accession negotiations with the EU.

According to Utrinski Vesnik, Bulgaria is trying to follow the Greek example by attempting to determine the future of Macedonia, and to prove that Macedonia's past and history were in fact Bulgaria's past and history.

The author states that in order to support Macedonia for the EU, Bulgaria might demand that it give up its national heroes such as the revolutionary Gotse Delchev and the Miladinovi Brothers, and other important persons and events in its history.

The editorial concludes that Bulgaria was certainly not among Macedonia's true friends because of its present alleged "offensive against Macedonia".

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