site.btaBlagoevgrad is Example in Europe for Protection of Freedom, Says BTA Director General

Blagoevgrad is an example in Europe for the protection of freedom, BTA Director General Kiril Valchev said at the opening of a local conference within BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project. The conference took place at the BTA National Press Club here on Wednesday.

Valchev pointed out that after decades of resistance in the Balkans against the Turks in the 14th-15th centuries, saving the rest of Europe from being conquered, the Bulgarians are the people who, under foreign yoke, managed to preserve their language, faith, traditions, knowledge of their family and homeland for the longest time.

He noted that the striving for freedom finds a vivid example in the two liberations of Gorna Dzhumaya (old name of Blagoevgrad). Valchev recalled that on today's date, February 12, 1878, a Russian combat unit, led by Major Ivan Orlinsky, liberated the town during the Russo-Turkish War. "This Liberation turned out to be short, because by virtue of the Treaty of Berlin, signed on July 13, 1878, the Bulgarian lands were torn apart and Gorno Dzhumaya again remained within the borders of the Ottoman Empire," Valchev stressed.

He stated that the second liberation was on October 5, 1912, during the First Balkan War. He underscored that the two liberations of this part of Bulgaria are a symbol of the fact that preserving freedom is more difficult than obtaining it. "This is done with continuous investments in the lives of free people, which we talked about at the opening of this BTA National Press Club three years ago with photos from the Agency's rich archive," Valchev pointed out, adding that the oldest photo in the exhibition is from 1952 and shows a moment of the electrification of the Blagoevgrad village of Leshko.

Valchev also said that BTA keeps photos of the events related to the two major universities in the town, namely the Neofit Rilski South-West University and the American University in Bulgaria, as well as photos of the visit of heads of diplomatic missions, which is one of the reasons for the town to be modernized. "These photos from the BTA archives show that this region, after its two liberations, has never stopped investing in different dimensions of its free life and is thus an example for all of Europe," he stressed, adding that the memory of the people who invested their lives in the struggle and in the building of freedom is always preserved, and that this continues to be the case as part of the European Union.

He pointed out that thanks to the opening of the National Press Club in Blagoevgrad in 2022, the town has been part of the national and European conversations for three years now. Valchev noted that over the past four years, BTA has tripled its national press clubs and preserved and developed the 14 press clubs opened over the previous 18 years.

BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project aims to raise public awareness and foster open dialogue about cohesion policy, local achievements, and the implementation of the EU's policy priorities. The project kicked off with a conference in Veliki Preslav in November 2024. Until September 2025, BTA will host discussions at its press clubs in the following cities: Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Kazanlak, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Razgrad, Ruse, Samokov, Svishtov, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofia, Stara Zagora, Troyan, Targovishte, Haskovo, Shumen, and Yambol. Cross-border conferences will be held in Belgrade, Bosilegrad, Bucharest, Edirne, Skopje, and Thessaloniki. The project builds on the Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future and Europe in Bulgaria: A Common Future projects, implemented by BTA in 2023 and 2024, respectively.