site.btaBotev Monument Unveiled in Moldova's Valea Perjei Village

Bulgaria's Consul in Taraclia Lyubomir Dimov and Association of Bulgarians Around the World President Mladen Stanev unveiled a bust of Bulgarian revolutionary and poet Hristo Botev in the Village of Valea Perjei (Southeastern Moldova).

The unveiling ceremony took place in the local Hristo Botev Theoretical Lyceum as part of observances of the educational establishment's 50th anniversary.

Attending the event were the leaders of Taraclia District, local government officials, representatives of Bulgarian cultural, educational and public organizations in Moldova and Bulgaria, pupils and teachers.

In her welcoming speech, the school's Principal Anna Colceva credited Stanev and the former Taraclia District Chairman Ivan Paslar for initiating the setting up of the monument in the village and noted that the lyceum is the only educational establishment in Moldova named after Botev. Colceva described the unveiling of the monument as "a historic event".

In a greetings address, Bulgaria's Ambassador in Chisinau Maya Dobreva thanked the teachers for the efforts, diligence and perseverance with which they do their highly responsible job.

"Here in Taraclia, in Moldova, in Bessarabia, we have always talked this is is the other Bulgaria: here traditions are observed. Here one is proud to identify as Bulgarian, because back home in Bulgaria this word is becoming devoid of meaning," Stanev said in front of Botev's newly unveiled monument.

The Hristo Botev Theoretical Lyceum has an enrolment of 274 schoolchildren and a staff of 30 teachers.