site.btaThousands on Mt Buzludja Mark 130th Anniversary of Organized Socialist Movement in Bulgaria

Mt Buzludzha, Balkan Range, July 3 (BTA) - Thousands of Socialists took part in the traditional gathering of the Left here on Saturday to mark the 130th anniversary of the organized Socialist movement in Bulgaria. A week ahead of the snap parliamentary elections, the top-of-the-list MP candidates of BSP for Bulgaria and representatives of its coalition partners gathered on Mt Buzludja.

BSP for Bulgaria leader Kornelia Ninova said that Saturday's gathering pays homage to Dimiter Blagoev and his followers who 130 years ago laid the beginnings on Mt Buzludja. In her words, these were "130 years of battles, getting up and falling down, mistakes and upsurges, but 130 years of striving for a better future for Bulgaria". "The change began from us and it is our duty to finish it," she said in relation to the July 11 elections.

She said firmly that there will be a recalculation of pensions, even if this has to be a condition for the formation of a government.

The anniversary was a big occasion for merrymaking: from the morning the historical meadow under Mt Buzludja was the stage for traditional horo dancing to the sound of wind music. As per tradition, there were BBQ stands and a stall of the Duma daily.

On August 2, 1891, Bulgarian politician Dimiter Blagoev and some 20 followers of Socialism from various settlements in Bulgaria gathered at the meadow under Mt Buzludja for a congress that established the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party (BSDP), the first social democratic party in the Balkans. The meeting was held in secret as the political regime at the time limited the freedom of association. The congress marked the birth of the organized Socialist movement in Bulgaria.

The Bulgarian Communist Party and later the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) consider themselves the BSDP's heirs.

LN/DS