There have been ethnic Bulgarians living in Albania for centuries, mostly in the regions of Bilishta, Korca, Golo Brdo, Mala Prespa and Nasha Gora, today they number around 30,000. 

The Macedonian Alliance for European Integration party, a self-proclaimed defender of the interests of the “Macedonian people in Albania”, has protested against including Bulgarians in the draft law on minorities, stating it violated international law and constituted genocide against the Macedonian people and a crime against humanity. In an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio, Hadji Pirushi, chairman of the Golo Brdo Prosperity Association described the allegations that there were no Bulgarians in Albania as “ridiculous”.