In June the Bulgarian community in the border region of Serbia will have another window to Bulgaria. The local Radio-Television Caribrod will broadcast shows and news produced by the Bulgarian National Radio.

The start will be given with the noon news bulletin and a weekly overview by the "Horizont" information program. Reports, children's and music programs, as well as podcasts created by the BNR will be offered to Bulgarians from the Municipality of Tsaribrod, Director General Milen Mitev, who signed a cooperation agreement with the director of RTV Caribrod, Vladimir Velkovich, announced. With it, the two media organizations strengthen the already established relations, as the aspiration is to upgrade them with new forms of interaction.

"For me, it is extremely important that we signed an agreement with your media again, as it is one of the largest media companies in the region,” Vladimir Velkovich said. “In addition, BNR is important for the Bulgarian population living in this region. And I am very glad that a relatively small media as Radio-Television Caribrod, has the opportunity to sign a contract with one of the most important media companies in the Balkans. I hope that we would be able to contribute to your work and that this would mean a lot both for the citizens who live here and the people in Bulgaria, whom we will be able to tell about the life of the Bulgarian national minority in Serbia."

The Director General of the BNR, Milen Mitev, also expressed his satisfaction with the renewal of cooperation between the media on both sides of the border and pointed out:

"As a public media, it is particularly important for us to maintain good relations with our neighbors and I believe that both by providing our materials - news, cultural programs and others, as well as by broadcasting materials created by Radio-Television Caribrod, we will contribute to an even better understanding between people in the region and in this way we will complement the implementation of our public mission. In addition to aired programs, BNR also has the resources of Radio Bulgaria, which broadcasts on the Internet in ten foreign languages, including Serbian. I look forward to seeing what forms of interaction the two media teams will be able to come up with."

The BNR delegation, led by the director general, was also welcomed by the mayor of Tsaribrod Municipality, Vladitsa Dimitrov. He and the chairman of the municipal council, Zoran Djurov, told the guests from Bulgaria about some topical issues from the life of the Bulgarians in Tsaribrod and expressed hope that through the cooperation between the two media, problems will receive publicity and will be solved more quickly.

The traffic jams at the "Kalotina" border checkpoint in the summer is one of the most serious problems. The mayor informed that a proposal has already been sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria for the construction of a separate temporary point only for the citizens of Bulgaria and Serbia, which will work from June to September, when there is intense traffic of cars in transit from Western Europe to Turkey. An answer is expected after a regular government is formed in Bulgaria.

"We want your help with all this, as we are Bulgarians just like you, but we live on the other side of the border," the mayor of Tsaribrod, Vladitsa Dimitrov, pointed out.

The Chairman of the Municipal Council, Zoran Djurov, also hopes for more publicity for the initiatives of the Bulgarians in Tsaribrod.

He expressed hopes that after the elections on June 9, Bulgaria would be able to have a regular government with which to start a dialogue on longer-term issues related to the Bulgarian national minority in Serbia. He also appealed through the media in Bulgaria to spread the knowledge about the name of the city - Tsaribrod, instead of Dimitrovgrad. According to Zoran Djurov, the return of the old name is the result of great efforts from the Bulgarians in Serbia.

In response, the Director General of the Bulgarian National Radio, Milen Mitev, said that the media will help in finding answers to the questions posed by the Bulgarians in Serbia.

"The team of colleagues from Radio Bulgaria, who create broadcasts for our compatriots abroad, including in the Serbian language, will also be happy to tell their audience about what is happening in your country. I believe that we will be able to provide a worthy forum to the topics that excite you and that you wish to be discussed."

Publication in English: Alexander Markov

Photos: Krasimir Martinov