Bulgaria’s new ruling party — unlike the previous one – has strongly condemned a planned far-right march, commemorating a World War II General, for endangering social peace.
A woman holds the portrait of General Hristo Lukov during a march in Sofia13 on February 2021. Members of several nationalist organizations took part in the march in the commemoration. Photo: EPA-EFE/VASSIL DONEV
Bulgaria’s ruling party “We Continue the Change” on Friday condemned the Lukov March, a far-right rally held each year in Sofia to commemorate a World War II General. It takes place on Saturday.
“We strongly oppose the intentions for the Lukov March to be held, as well as any neo-Nazi and pro-fascist events on the territory of Bulgaria. We condemn the holding of any events threatening social peace and the dignity of Bulgarian citizens,” the party said. The rally will be preceded by an anti-fascist demonstration in Sofia on the same day.
The Bulgarian Socialist Party, part of the “We Continue the Change”-led coalition government, also criticised the march, which continues to be held despite bans and probes by the Prosecution.
On Friday, after these statements, the organisers of the march reconfirmed their intentions to go ahead, while warning attendees not to show “symbols banned by law”.
Hristo Lukov (1887-1944), was Minister of War from 1935 to 1938 and leader of the Union of Bulgarian National Legions, an organisation aligned with Nazi Germany. He was assassinated by Communist partisans. His biography and views are still disputed.
The first Lukov March was held in 2003 in Sofia, and the event is often joined by nationalists from other countries, usually from the Balkans and Scandinavia.
It is organised by the Bulgarian National Union, a nationalist party founded by Boyan Rasate, who in 2021, while running for President, was arrested for carrying out an attack on an LGBT safe space centrе.
In 2020, Sofia mayor Yordanka Fandakovа, affiliated to the previous ruling GERB party and previously accused of inactivity over the matter, banned the march but the commemorations still continued on a lower scale with an increased police presence. GERB, which governed in a ruling coalition with the nationalist United Patriots between 2017 and 2021, rarely commented on the event.
After three general elections and a long political impasse, in 2021, “We Continue the Change” formed a reformist coalition government, which includes their closest allies, Democratic Bulgaria, previous election winner “There’s Such a People” and the Bulgarian Socialist Party.
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