site.btaMilitary Parade in Sofia Marks Day of Valour, Day of Bulgarian Armed Forces

Sofia, May 6 (BTA) - A military parade in Sofia marked May 6, the Day of Valour and of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. Since the latter are celebrating their 140th anniversary in July, representative units and military equipment rolled out for the parade.

At its start, President Rumen Radev, who is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, reviewed the troops.

Participating were more than 1,600 personnel, 52 wheeled and chain vehicles of the Ground Forces and the Air Defence Forces, and 14 helicopters and aircraft of the Air Force.

This is the first time that a representative unit of Macedonia's Armed Forces has participated in the May 6 parade in Bulgaria.

Addressing those gathered, Radev said: "Valour is not manifested only on the battlefield. Today we have to rediscover the everyday valour of the worthy man and woman, the valour needed to speak the truth, to defend democracy, to stand up against injustice; the valour of the worthy individual who fights lawlessness and arbitrary rule."

Radev said Bulgaria was strong when valour and values ruled, adding that a moral crisis was a fact nowadays. He noted that after World War II, the world believed that the horror of the past would prevent new bloodshed. However, it is a fact in Europe's periphery and even in the streets of Europe. "A world in which individual egoism is pushed forth as a priority, national egoisms are predictably coming back, generating new risks, clashes and conflicts," the President said. In this world the armed forces are resuming their role as a guarantor of security and prosperity, he added.

The event was attended by Parliament Chairperson Tsveta Karayancheva, Vice President Iliana Iotova, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Krassimir Karakachanov, the Chief of Defence, General Andrei Botsev, representatives of political parties, MPs, ministers, senior military officers, diplomats and veterans, among others.