MACEDONIAN NORTH BORDER – POLITICS AND REFLECTIONS. ON THE MEMORIAL CENTER OF ANTI-FASCIST ASSEMBLY FOR THE PEOPLE’S LIBERATION OF MACEDONIA (AAPLM) IN PELINCE, THAT MARKS MACEDONIAN RECENT PAST

Abstract

After the independence of the Republic of Macedonia, one of the issues in the sequence of the problematization of Macedonian national identity, of the Macedonian state and Macedonians, internally and by the neighboring states and nations, was the problem of obstruction of the celebration of the jubilees related to the Anti-Fascist Assembly for the People's Liberation of Macedonia (AAPLM) at the Monastery St. Prohor Pcinjski in Serbia settled on the North Macedonian Serbian borderline, now, officially in Serbia. As a result, Macedonia started to consider alternatives for celebrating the anniversaries of AAPLM openly. Thus, in 2004 the construction of the memorial Center of AAPLM in Pelince, a location only a few kilometers away from the Serbian-Macedonian border and few kilometers from the Monastery St. Prohor Pcinjski. However, instead of closing this problematic issue, this Center opened new debates, interpretations, and readings of Macedonian national history and identity.