Bulgarian authorities have banned an annual torchlight march in downtown Sofia in honor of a late general who led the Nazi Union of Bulgarian National Legions during World War II
Feb 25, 2023 1:27pm ET
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SOFIA, Bulgaria – Bulgarian authorities on Saturday banned an annual torch march in downtown Sofia in honor of a late general who led the Nazi Union of Bulgarian National Legions during World War II.
Hours before the event, the country’s Prosecutor General called on the Mayor of Sofia and the Interior Minister to “take care of maintaining public order and protecting the rights of the public before the Lukov march”.
The event was condemned by human rights groups, political parties and foreign embassies, who criticized the demonstration’s organizers for promoting racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism.
Nationalists gathered outside the prosecutor’s office to protest the restrictive measures.
Meanwhile, dozens of anti-fascist activists staged a rally against the nationalist event and insisted on banning neo-Nazis.
A strong police presence prevented clashes between the two sides.
The march, which has been held annually since 2003, has over the years attracted nationalist admirers of General Hristo Lukov, who supported Germany during World War II and was killed by an anti-fascist resistance movement.
The general served as Minister of War from 1935 to 1938 and headed the Nazi German Union of Bulgarian Legions from 1942 until his death in 1943.
The organizers deny that Lukov was anti-Semitic or that they are neo-fascists, insist that the general was a war hero and a true Bulgarian patriot, and claim that the descendants of Lukov’s killers are afraid of the event.
On Saturday, police also blocked the streets around the place where Lukov had lived in Sofia to prevent the nationalists from holding a ceremony commemorating Lukov, which has been the highlight of the event in previous years.
Bulgaria, the poorest member of the European Union, has a growing presence of right-wing nationalists and the Lukov March was their main public event.