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Bulgarian cultural centre in Bitola rebuilt after fire 

The renovated Bulgarian Cultural Centre "Ivan Mihailov" in Bitola, North Macedonia.
Photo: Bulgarian Memory Foundation

The Bulgarian Cultural Centre "Ivan Mihailov" in Bitola, North Macedonia, has been rebuilt after it was damaged by fire in early June. The costs were covered by the Bulgarian Memory Foundation

Macedonian singer Lambe Alabakovski set fire to the front door of the centre with Molotov cocktails. He justified the attack by saying that he did not like the name of the centre, named after the last leader of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation (a secret revolutionary society for the liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule, active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries - ed.) The damage is estimated at EUR 10 000. 
The Bulgarian Memory Foundation is the main sponsor of the cultural centre, covering monthly expenses, teaching materials and the running of the centre's Bulgarian Sunday school.



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