LIK Editor-in-chief Lozanov: Our Identity Is Threatened by Nothing but Our Forgetfulness

Dimitrina Solakova, BTA special correspondent Ivan Lazarov

Assoc. Prof. Georgi Lozanov, Editor-in-Chief of the Bulgarian News Agency's LIK magazine, Thessaloniki, Greece, September 15, 2024 (BTA Photo/Nikola Uzunov)

Thessaloniki, Greece,

15.09.2024 22:02

(BTA)

"Our identity is threatened by nothing but our forgetfulness," Assoc. Prof. Georgi Lozanov, Editor-in-Chief of the Bulgarian News Agency's LIK magazine, said here on Sunday. He was speaking at the unveiling of a memorial plaque to brothers Atanas and Lyubomir Dalchev in the yard of the Consulate General of Bulgaria in Thessaloniki, Greece. The plaque was placed on the initiative of the Bulgarian News Agency and the Consulate General.

"There are times when the nation and national identity are threatened. Due to historical circumstances it can be melted down, and there are despotic forces that try to destroy it in one way or another. We are very fortunate to live in a period when our national identity is not under threat. We should not succumb to the insinuations that want to shape it as some kind of militant identity against someone else," said Assoc. Prof. Lozanov.

"When a national identity is not threatened, it becomes a cultural identity. And it is carried to the greatest extent by the great figures in culture. That is why the true worship of the national is the worship of the great cultural figures on whom our identity rests. Here are two such artists who stand on this plaque - Atanas and Lyubomir Dalchev," he added.

Among those present at Sunday's event were: BTA Director General Kiril Valchev, Anton Markov, Consul General of Bulgaria in Thessaloniki; Victoria Dalcheva, daughter of Atanas Dalchev, and other members of the family; Prof. Huseyin Mevsim, professor of Bulgarian language and literature at Ankara University and author of the book Atanas Dalchev in Thessaloniki and Istanbul; Prof. Mihail Nedelchev, professor and researcher in theory and history of literature at New Bulgarian University in Sofia, editor of the two-volume book of Atanas Dalchev's works published by Bulgarian Writer in 1975, and author and editor of studies on the poet; Boyko Vassilev, journalist and presenter on Bulgarian National Television; and Iriney Konstantinov, actor with recordings of Atanas Dalchev's poems and Sofia Theatre Director.

/DS/