80 th Anniversary of Vatasa Massacre Marked

The Municipality of Kavadarci organised on 15 and 16 June a series of events marking the
80 th anniversary of the Vatasa massacre, in which back in 1943, 12 young boys were
slaughtered by Bulgarian soldiers. Culture Minister Bisera Kostadinovska-Stojcevska
attended the event as a representative from the Government and Mile Bosnjakovski attended
in the name of President Stevo Pendarovski, while of the political party leaders in attendance
were VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski and Levica leader Dimitar Apasiev. “We
are here today to pay our respects to the 12 young boys and address new messages for peace.
80 years have passed, but the pain of this historical event is still fresh. Our duty is to make
sure that such terrible events, committed by the then Bulgarian fascist government, never
happens again,” Kostadinovska-Stojcevska said. VMRO-DPMNE leader Mickoski called
upon the government to make efforts for the Bulgarian FM Maria Gabriel to visit the village
of Vatasa, and to apologise and ask forgiveness for the deeds done by her predecessors.