site.btaWriter Zachary Karabashliev's Declaration for Ukraine Backed by 17,000 Signatures

A declaration in support of Ukraine compiled by writer Zachary Karabashliev has been supported by more than 17,000 people, journalist Dragomir Simeonov said at a BTA-hosted news conference in Sofia on Thursday. The declaration is addressed to President Rumen Radev, National Assembly Chair Nataliya Kiselova and Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov.

Simeonov said: "We want to encourage Bulgarian institutions to take a clear and firm stance in favour of a just and lasting peace. The signatures were not specially collected, this is definitely not a referendum. This is about taking a civic stance."

Those who have supported the declaration include professors, teachers, engineers, doctors and artists. People with less common occupations such as firefighters and ship commanders have also affixed their signatures to it.

Zachary Karabashliev, the author of the declaration, said that any unjust peace is simply another simmering war. "We want to be able to stand with a peace which is just and can last, not a peace forced upon the victim. We want a peace which will not make us feel ashamed of taking the wrong moral stance."

Former education minister Veselin Metodiev commented: "Every time the Bulgarian intelligentsia clearly demonstrates its virtues is a really big thing to me as a historian. It is an enduring factor which pulls all of society forward. It has always been so in the history of European nations."

"Those who support the declaration are far more than 17,000," writer Teodora Dimova argued. Discussing Bulgarians' gratitude to Russia for liberating their land from Ottoman Turkish rule on March 3, 1878, Dimova said: "Those who carry and wave the Russian flag every year on March 3 consider themselves patriots and love Bulgaria. We cannot get used to this paradox because they took our love for our Fatherland and replaced it with a love for Russia. Our side are called war-lovers, and the word 'patriots' is reserved for those who love Russia and wave the Russian flag."

Actress Yana Titova called on her colleagues to be more active in such civic campaigns because their fans look up to them. "We are short of leaders who state clearly where they stand, so that others can follow them," Titova said.

According to literary theory professor Amelia Licheva, about 70% of Bulgarians believe in conspiracy theories, which makes them easy prey for disinformation and intimidation. Bulgaria has been rather hesitant on the Russia-Ukraine question for years, but finally, there is this declaration, which is concrete, clear and bold, Licheva noted. She said she is embarrassed by the stance of President Rumen Radev, whose critics see him as a champion of forced peace.

Pulmonologist Kosta Kostov said the signatories to the declaration are a "thinking minority" confronted by a "demoralized majority." He is happy that the signatories are dominated by people of intellect. "This is a declaration for the future of our children, because a just peace for Ukraine and Europe is good for Bulgaria," Kostov said.