Minister Ivan Kondov opened at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the documentary exhibition ‘The Pogrom in Bosilegrad (15–16 May 1917)’ of the Bosilegrad Cultural Information Centre, Republic of Serbia, with the author Assoc. Prof. Angel Dzhonev
02 December 2024 News
On 28 November 2024, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivan Kondov opened at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the documentary exhibition ‘The Pogrom in Bosilegrad (15–16 May 1917)’ of the Bosilegrad Cultural and Information Centre, Republic of Serbia, with the author Assoc. Prof. Angel Dzhonev.
The exhibition consists of 15 pictures and was displayed for the first time in the Bosilegrad Cultural Information Centre in 2017. Later it was shown in the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as in municipal and museum institutions in Dupnitsa, Kyustendil, Blagoevgrad, Breznik and Troyan. In 2022, it was exhibited at the Tsaribrod Cultural and Information Centre, and in 2023 — at the National Ethnographic Museum in Sofia.
The exhibition depicts the tragic events of 107 years ago, when in the midst of the First World War the town of Bosilegrad and the surrounding villages were attacked by the Serbian chetniks led by Kosta Pecanac. The consequences were extremely harsh — children, women and men killed and wounded, houses and outbuildings burned, livelihoods destroyed.
Minister Kondov stressed that by preserving the memory of these events today’s generations were fulfilling their duty to their ancestors and drawing lessons from the past to build a better future. He pointed out that the Republic of Bulgaria attaches great importance to the rights and the situation of the Bulgarian national minority in the Republic of Serbia, noting that this issue is directly related to respect for common European values and the fulfilment of the criteria for membership in the European Union.
In turn, the Chairman of the Bosilegrad Cultural Information Centre, Mr. Ivan Nikolov and Assoc. Prof. Angel Dzhonev, presented the exhibition and called for the preservation and comprehensive study of the Bulgarian cultural and historical heritage in the Republic of Serbia.