FIR protests against neofascist Lukov-March in Sofia

17. Februar 2018

This weekend again several hundred neo-Fascists from Bulgaria and other European countries held a public event in Sofia. They showed again Nazi uniforms and fascist symbols. In slogans, they offended refugees, foreigners and Turkish minorities in the country.

The protest against this march was wide. More than 175.000 person supported an online-petition to ban the provocation. Our Bulgarian member federation BAU and other initiatives of the civil society demonstrated against this historical revisionism. It is scandalous that the ban of the march by the Major of Sofia was refused by the Bulgarian High court.

With the following letter to the Bulgarian government and the Major of Sofia FIR supported this protest:

The International Federation of Resistance Fighters (FIR) – Association of Antifascists is deeply concerned about the news from Bulgaria. Our member federation, the Bulgarian Antifascist Union, informed us about the proposed annual neo-Nazi-marching mid of February in Sofia honoring General Hristo Lukov, who was sentenced to death because of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the “Name of People” after WWII.

We do not need to explain you the history of General Lukov. He was a minister of War and a leader of ultranationalist organization Union of national Bulgarian legions. He was “extremely brutal protector of Hitler in Bulgaria”. He had strongly influenced the government to send Bulgarian Jewish in the death camps in Germany. He also was fierce supporter of the idea for sending ten Bulgarian divisions on the East front against the Red Army. All this is well known in Bulgaria and Europe.

What will happen to honor General Lukov?

Torchlight processions, with Nazi uniforms and symbols, neo-Nazi ideas, with hate demonstrations, ethnic, religious and racial confrontations demonstrate neo-fascist worship in front of the memory of this “idol” in the spirit of stylistics; hundreds of young people with skin heads and tattooed fylfots accompanied with music, marches, flags and fireworks are demonstrating on the streets of Sofia. The organizers belong to the Bulgarian fascist and Nazi group’s ultras, to the Bulgarian branch of “Blood and Honor”, representatives of nationalist parties. They are joined by participants from Nazi organizations from Germany, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Falangist’s from Spain, extreme right representatives from France, by the union “United and ethnically clean Europe”, from the Russian imperial movement and by the Swedish Nazi movement “Nordic Front”. Anti-immigrant rhetoric, the fear of migratory waves, occupying Europe, is turning the policy of “the main stream of conviction” in racism, nationalism and xenophobia.

It is a good signal that social movements and political groups in Bulgaria stand against “LUKOV MARCH”. There was also a protest note from the American ambassador and Russia last year.

We call the major of Sofia and the representatives of the Bulgarian government to ban the fascist marching in Bulgarians Capital. It would be a very bad political signal, if the Bulgarian government – actually the head of the European presidency – would allow European Nazi and fascist to present the swastika and other fascist symbols to honor General Hristo Lukov in their own center.