Bulgarian Ruling Party Condemns Controversial Far-right March

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

"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...