The United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) has sought an apology from the office of Tsar Simeon II, the last reigning Tsar of Bulgaria, as today marks the anniversary of the tragic Vatasa Massacre when the Bulgarian army, which occupied Macedonia during World War II, killed 12 young Macedonian boys between the ages of 15-28 from the village of Vatasa, in the Tikves region of Macedonia.
A similar tragedy called the Dabnica Massacre occurred in September of 1942 when 19 men were killed by the Bulgarian occupying army, near Prilep.
These tragedies, and many others, which occurred during the reign of Tsar Simeon’s father, Tsar Boris III, have not been acknowledged nor apologized for by Tsar Simeon, the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family, or the modern-day Bulgarian state.
Earlier in 1943, the Bulgarian occupying army rounded up 98% of the Macedonian Jewish community and deported them to their deaths in Treblinka never to return.
UMD pointed out that an apology will ease the pain of survivors and their relatives while aid in reconciliation efforts between the Bulgarian and Macedonian states and peoples today.
