site.btaBulgaria Celebrates Its National Day

104 POLITICS - BULGARIA - NATIONAL DAY - OBSERVANCES AMPLIFIED

Bulgaria Celebrates
Its
National Day


Sofia, March 3 (BTA) - Bulgaria celebrated its National Day on
Wednesday. March 3 marks the date on which a Preliminary Treaty
of Peace was signed in San Stefano (near Constantinople) in
1878, 143 years ago. The Treaty of San Stefano ended the
1877-1878 Russo-Turkish War and restored Bulgarian statehood
after nearly five centuries of Ottoman rule.

Observances took place across the country, but they were
considerably downscaled due to the pandemic.
 
Thå celebrations culminated at the Monument to Liberty on Mt
Shipka in the Central Balkan Range (the scene of a decisive
battle during the 1877-1878 war in which 7,500 Bulgarian
volunteers and Russian soldiers held the Shipka Pass against a
30,000-strong Turkish army on August 11, 1877). President Rumen
Radev and National Assembly Chair Tsveta Karayancheva paid
tribute to the heroes of Shipka. Thousands flocked to the peak
even though Gabrovo Municipality had decided to cancel the
military and religious ceremonies there owing to the risk of a
COVID-19 outbreak.

Addressing the people gathered on Mt Shipka, Radev thanked them
for coming to that "sacred place" and defying the encroachment
on their right to honour "those to whom we owe our freedom".

"History teaches a lesson, heroism inspires, but no nation can
rest on the laurels of its dead heroes. What is needed is faith,
 effort, actions rather than words," the head of State added.  
 

"On this peak we must reconsider our actions, we must ponder why
 we are sometimes unable to overcome our egocentricity, why we
are unable to rally behind a common goal," Karayancheva noted in
 her speech on Mt Shipka. "We must be strong and put our
differences behind us for the sake of Bulgaria," she went on to
say.

In a Facebook post, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov greeted
Bulgarians on their national day, describing it is "a
celebration of the regained Bulgarian statehood and a tribute to
 the heroic self-sacrifice of all who laid down their lives for
their motherland". Borissov wrote that "the Bulgarian spirit is
upset yet again" and that "the huge stress of the pandemic has
deprived society of its peace of mind and has put on hold the
country's advancement." The PM said that the measures which were
 taken have worked and trust in them and concerted efforts are
key to returning to normalcy in the near future.

Borissov argued that it would be wrong to merely seek to restore
 life the way it was before the pandemic and that the country
can do much more and people can live an even better life. The
only hurdle to this is confrontation and a lack of
understanding, which should be avoided at any cost, in his
opinion. "Months of recovery lie ahead, followed by a difficult
battle for greater prosperity for Bulgaria and its people. I am
sure that we will stay together in this great cause and will
prove, by hard work, that we are worthy of the legacy of our
predecessors," the head of government wrote.

In a greetings address circulated by the Holy Synod of the
Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte
described March 3 as "the day that ushered in the most recent
period of freedom in the millennial history of our dear
motherland, a day of joyful jubilation and deserved pride, of
commemoration and prayer for all who sacrificed their lives to
achieve the liberty of Bulgaria during the war of liberation".

Earlier in the day, the national flag was raised at a solemn
ceremony in front of the Monument to the Unknown Soldier in
Sofia while the national anthem was played and a 20-gun salute
was fired. Vice President Iliana Iotova, Deputy Prime Minister
and Defence Minister Krassimir Karakachanov, Deputy Prime
Minister and Tourism Minister Mariyana Nikolova, the Chief of
Defence, Admiral Emil Eftimov, Cabinet members and foreign
diplomats attended. A wreath was laid at the Monument, and the
guard of honour marched past the dignitaries.

"Bulgaria was not liberated as a gift: five centuries of
national liberation movement, uprisings from the very day
Bulgaria fell under foreign domination are evidence that the
nation survived and stood up for its values," Vice President
Iotova said after the flag-raising ceremony.

"March 3 marks the inception of the ideal about united
Bulgaria,"' Deputy Prime Minister Karakachanov pointed out. "It
is precisely on March 3 rather than on any other day that
epitomizes this national ideal: that Bulgarians should live
freely in their own state of Bulgaria," he added.

* * *

Bulgarian National Assembly Deputy Chair and leader of the
National Front for Salvation of Bulgaria (NFSB) Valeri Simeonov
marked March 3 in Koprivshtitsa (Central Bulgaria) together with
 Miklos Soltesz, Hungary's Secretary of State for Churches,
Minorities and Civil Affairs, Dancho Musev, Chair of the
Bulgarian Republican Self-Government in Hungary, Szimeon Varga,
permanent observer from  the Bulgarian minority quota in the
Hungarian Parliament, and prominent members of the Bulgarian
community in Hungary, NFSB said in a press release.

The historic town of Koprivshtitsa was one of the main centres
of the April 1876 Uprising against the Ottoman Rule whose
crushing was among the factors that prompted Russia to declare
war on Turkey two years later.

Earlier in the day, Simeonov and the Hungarian guests were
welcomed at Hungary's mission in Sofia by Ambassador Tekla
Harangozo.

* * *

On Bulgaria's National Day, European Council President Charles
Michel tweeted congratulations to all Bulgarians.

Russia's Ambassador in Sofia Eleonora Mitrofanova paid floral
tribute at the Eternal Flame in front of the Monument to the
Unknown Soldier and at the Monument to the Bulgarian Volunteers.

The Ambassador greeted Bulgarians on the occasion of their
country's national day in a Facebook post. Referring to March 3,
 she described it as "our shared legacy, our shared victory, a
shared holiday." Speaking in Bulgarian, the diplomat pointed out
 that "today's holiday is a constant in Bulgarian history, and
this value does not depend on any political preferences
whatsoever." "I am convinced that we will be promoting
cooperation between our two countries in a spirit of mutual
respect and equal partnership," Mitrofanova said.

"On behalf of the Government of the United States of America, I
congratulate all Bulgarians on the occasion of your National
Day," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on the State
Department website. "As enduring friends, Allies, and partners,
the United States and Bulgaria share a commitment to freedom,
human rights, democratic and accountable institutions, security,
 and a market economy. We look forward to working together as
you lead the Three Seas Initiative this year, and as we recover
from the global pandemic, revive our economies, strengthen our
institutions, address shared regional and global challenges, and
 further develop our strategic partnership", the press release
reads.

On the occasion of this country's national day, Bulgaria's
Ambassador to Israel Rumyana Bachvarova and Bulgarian Embassy
officials were received in Jerusalem by His Beatitude Theophilos
 III, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine
and Israel, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said in a press
release. Earlier in the day, a prayer service for the health and
 well being of all Bulgarians was held at the Patriarchal
Church.

The Bulgarian Embassy in Moldova organized a wreath-laying
ceremony in remembrance of those who fell for Bulgaria's
freedom.

The Congress of Bulgarians in Ukraine All-Ukrainian Public
Organization has issued an address greeting Bulgaria on March 3.
 LN, NV/LG