Foreign Ministry opposes controversial Lukov March

Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry said it firmly opposes the planned “Lukov March”, organised by the far-right Bulgarian National Union on February 14th, and called on the competent authorities to take all lawful measures to prevent it.

“Such events are incompatible with the values and traditions of Bulgarian society, and our country will not allow its territory to be used as a stage for the international display of extremism, intolerance, discrimination and hatred,” the ministry said in a statement. Such manifestations portray Bulgaria unfairly in a negative light and overshadow its achievements in the field of human rights, it added.

The Lukov March is an annual torchlit procession in Sofia honouring General Hristo Lukov (1887–1943), a former war minister who led a pro-Nazi nationalist organisation advocating closer ties with Nazi Germany. First held in the early 2000s, the event has drawn criticism from Jewish groups, human rights organisations and foreign embassies, and has faced repeated attempts by local authorities to ban it.

Editor: Miglena Ivanova

Edited and posted in English by E. Radkova