The Second Site of the Belene concentration camp is crumbling, yet the state remains inactive

For 36 years, no government has taken action to preserve the Second Site — the main location of the Belene concentration camp on Persin Island. It remains the most authentic memorial to the thousands of victims of the totalitarian communist regime — and it is falling into ruin, the organisers of the annual commemoration ceremony warned, as quoted by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency. This year's event was titled “The memory of the victims of the Belene concentration camp is here, but the state is not”.

“The glass is half empty, but it is starting to fill up. The fact that so many people come here every year is proof that they are not ready to forget, and that this memory must be preserved,” said Associate Professor Mihail Gruev, Chairman of the State Agency “Archives”, who was a special guest at the commemoration.

He added that Belene should become a place where teachers bring their pupils, lecturers bring their students, and thousands of Bulgarians lay flowers in memory of in memory of those who met their end on the island.

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The commemoration was attended by former camp inmates who came out with a banner reading: 'The last witnesses want to see justice while they are still alive', as well as relatives of the camp's victims who have preserved the memories of their fathers and grandfathers. Also in attendance were the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey, Mehmet Sait Uyanık; the Minister of Justice, Georgi Georgiev; and members of parliament.