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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
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| Bulgarian foreign ministry condemns far-right march in Sofia | Bulgarian foreign ministry condemns far-right march in Sofia |
| (1 day later) | |
| Bulgaria’s foreign ministry has condemned a march by hundreds of far-right supporters in honour of a Bulgarian general who led a pro-Nazi organisation in the 1930s and 40s. | Bulgaria’s foreign ministry has condemned a march by hundreds of far-right supporters in honour of a Bulgarian general who led a pro-Nazi organisation in the 1930s and 40s. |
| The two-hour torchlit procession went ahead in the capital, Sofia, on Saturday night despite calls from Bulgaria’s largest parties, the US embassy and several Jewish organisations for it to be scrapped. | The two-hour torchlit procession went ahead in the capital, Sofia, on Saturday night despite calls from Bulgaria’s largest parties, the US embassy and several Jewish organisations for it to be scrapped. |
| “This manifestation of genuine intolerance to others took place less than a month after the whole world paid tribute to the victims of the Holocaust,” the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. | “This manifestation of genuine intolerance to others took place less than a month after the whole world paid tribute to the victims of the Holocaust,” the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. |
| The foreign ministry said any act glorifying the Nazi ideology was “absolutely unacceptable”. | The foreign ministry said any act glorifying the Nazi ideology was “absolutely unacceptable”. |
| “This must be a clear signal to us as a society and as Europeans who have not forgotten the suffering caused by world war two that it is not enough just to recall the tragic events,” the ministry said. | “This must be a clear signal to us as a society and as Europeans who have not forgotten the suffering caused by world war two that it is not enough just to recall the tragic events,” the ministry said. |
| Far-right supporters calling themselves Bulgarian nationalists were joined by neo-Nazi and antisemitic groups from other European countries on a march to honour Gen Hristo Lukov, a Bulgarian general known for supporting Nazi Germany during the second world war and for his antisemitic views. | Far-right supporters calling themselves Bulgarian nationalists were joined by neo-Nazi and antisemitic groups from other European countries on a march to honour Gen Hristo Lukov, a Bulgarian general known for supporting Nazi Germany during the second world war and for his antisemitic views. |
| Local authorities tried to ban the rally, which has been held every year for more than a decade, and which the government has condemned as “shameful”. However, organisers obtained a court order allowing them to proceed. | Local authorities tried to ban the rally, which has been held every year for more than a decade, and which the government has condemned as “shameful”. However, organisers obtained a court order allowing them to proceed. |
| “We object to being called antisemites, neo-Nazis, or fascists. We are simply nationalists,” the rally’s leader, Zvezdomir Andronov, told Agence France-Presse. | “We object to being called antisemites, neo-Nazis, or fascists. We are simply nationalists,” the rally’s leader, Zvezdomir Andronov, told Agence France-Presse. |
| Robert Eklund from the Nordic Resistance Movement said he was in Bulgaria “to fight a common enemy – multiculturalism, globalisation and the EU”, adding that he wanted to stop “non-European immigration”. | Robert Eklund from the Nordic Resistance Movement said he was in Bulgaria “to fight a common enemy – multiculturalism, globalisation and the EU”, adding that he wanted to stop “non-European immigration”. |
| The protesters marched through central Sofia for more than two hours, lighting torches and chanting Lukov’s name. | The protesters marched through central Sofia for more than two hours, lighting torches and chanting Lukov’s name. |
| Critics said the procession would overshadow government efforts to present the former communist Balkan state, which joined the EU in 2007, as a progressive and open-minded country at a time when Bulgaria holds the bloc’s rotating presidency. | Critics said the procession would overshadow government efforts to present the former communist Balkan state, which joined the EU in 2007, as a progressive and open-minded country at a time when Bulgaria holds the bloc’s rotating presidency. |
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