Following the break-up of Yugoslavia, Bulgaria welcomed the creation of an independent Macedonia, and in January 1991 was the first country to extend it full diplomatic recognition, despite the objections of neighboring Greece. Bulgarians have been reluctant, however, to acknowledge the existence of a Macedonian nationality or that the Macedonian language is anything other than a dialect of Bulgarian, points that the Macedonian government has insisted on emphasizing. When the group was first formed in 1990, Bulgarian authorities subjected its member to harassment and blocked its attempt to publish a newspaper. State Prosecutor Ivan Tatarchev, himself born in the Pirin, was especially vigorous in using police powers to attempt to suppress the organization, bringing down the condemnation of international human rights organizations. Researchers at the American University in Blagoevgrad, find a strong regional identity, but little sense of belonging to a separate nationality.
Linguists differ on the criteria used to distinguish a dialect from a separate language.
President Zhelev has called for a solution to the Macedonian Question through the establishment of open borders between the two states, and Bulgarian assistance has been vital during the Greek economic blockade. In a recent speech, Zhelev said that Bulgaria could not wish harm to Macedonia any more than a mother could wish harm to her children. This was, perhaps, less reassuring to the Macedonians than Zhelev intended. For its part, the Macedonian Republic has not been sympathetic toward its citizens who wish to express a Bulgarian ethnicity. The recently completed census found only 1,547 Bulgarians in the country, and those for the most part immigrants from Bulgaria outside the Pirin District.