SPEECHES AND STATEMENTS

Esteemed Mr Speaker of the National Assembly,

Esteemed Mr Prime Minister,

Your Holiness,

Esteemed Mrs Mayor,

Esteemed Ministers and Assembly Deputies,

Your Highnesses, 

Dear Compatriots,

 

On 3 March we celebrate the restoration of the Bulgarian statehood. Bulgaria’s national independence was not granted in 1878. The first guns of the national liberation war were fired in 1876 when the April uprising broke out. 3 March is something far beyond a national day, it is a symbol of how even after the pitch-dark night, the never-dying Bulgarian spirit revives for a new life on the dawn of the following day. We, Bulgarians, know that the future belongs to those people who manage to draw lessons from their most serious downfall. 

 

For us freedom, national not personal, is of enormous value. We all recall Lyuben Karavelov’s words, who in the distant 1869 wrote: “What man needs above all is freedom.” However, as another eminent Bulgarian, Pencho Slaveykov, said: “Freedom should first be felt in the heart.” Freedom illuminated the souls of our forefathers, who during the April uprising sacrificed their lives before the altar of our Homeland. The war between Russia and Turkey of 1977-1878 broke away the chains of our compatriots, who although already free in their hearts, were still physically enslaved. 

 

Today for the 136th time we pay tribute to the self-sacrifice of the thousands of Russians, Poles, Lithuanians, Estonians, Serbs and Montenegrins that took part in the war. We also take pride in the thousands of our forefathers from the Bulgarian army of volunteers, who, performing a feat, showed to the world that after 500 years under rule of foreign power holders, the Bulgarian deserved their national freedom.

 

Liberation left us as a legacy the ideal from San Stefano. However, for the first time its borders were not mapped out by the generals and diplomats, but by the Bulgarians, who were free in their hearts when at the unprecedented referendum conducted by the Ottoman Empire in 1874, our compatriots made the choice to join our first national institution – the exarchate. The free voice of our forefathers was the one that outlined Bulgaria’s spiritual map and determined its future. Today we may reinterpret this ideal by listening attentively to the voice of the people and by strengthening direct democracy. 

 

Way back before their liberation, our forefathers showed the direction we are following today – to build a “pure and sacred republic’ and “to be equal with the other European peoples.” Today it is important for us to find the points of consent which unite us and will help us work together to ensure a modern and prospering Bulgaria. Our future depends on all of us. It depends on the choices we make as individuals and citizens, on the decisions we take, on the values we cherish. The deed of the representatives of the Bulgarian national revival and patriots may be led to a successful end by building a fair state and a European-type democracy. 

 

Dear compatriots,

 

Regrettably we must admit that we recall the heroes who died for the freedom of our Homeland mainly in the festive atmosphere of celebrations. Rushed in our daily lives, we rarely find a minute to lay a flower at their grave plots or memorials. Therefore today, from this high rostrum, I would like to convey a message to the young people. Young people, Bulgaria’s past is much more than what is written in our history textbooks. It is built by the self-sacrifice of our fathers and forefathers. Take care of the historical monuments in your town or village, in your neighborhood, those near your school, community center or park. Every school should “adopt” at least one monument. Taking care of these national sacred places, you will restore the link between the past and the present. The loving care for the monuments of the heroes does not mean only paying tribute to past generations, it is a legacy to those that will come after you. We should pool efforts so that the epic of the forgotten becomes the epic of the unforgettable. 

 

The young people should know the history of their people as it is, without hiding or manipulating the facts. However, apart from knowledge, good upbringing is necessary. We will teach the young to be patriots not by giving them marks in school, but by showing that everybody is not indifferent to our Homeland, democracy and statehood. Democracy and prosperity cannot be simply granted or installed. We should work and fight for them every day. Democracy is a continuous process and every effort made is worth it. This is the way things are with our Homeland – every effort made is worth it.

 

Long live Bulgaria!