Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria
in Bucharest - Romania

Press Release/Comunicat de presa
Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria

On 3rd of March Bulgaria celebrates 133 years of the restoration of its independence. The anniversary coincides with the fifth year of the Bulgarian and Romanian membership in EU.
This is not by chance that this date is celebrated as the Day of Bulgarian liberation and state restoration. After five centuries the Bulgarian nation regained the right to create its own state and to have its own government. According to San Stefano Peace treaty Bulgaria has been restored and that’s why on this day we honour the people who gave their lives for the freedom of their country.
Today the Bulgarians will pay its respect to the memory of the thousands known and unknown Russians, Romanians, Ukrainians, Byelorussians, Finns, Serbians and Montenegrins who perished for the Bulgarian freedom during the war of liberation. We will as well honor the Bulgarian volunteers who gave their lives for one better and freer world.
There are many symbols of Bulgarian liberation as well as names of places and people that contributed to it. Romania is connected to the liberation struggle of Bulgarian people through places like Bucharest, Ploesti, Braila and Giurgiu, which sheltered many of the great persons of the Bulgarian national revival and where the ideas of the national struggle for freedom had the possibility to be developed and implemented in exact actions.
3rd of March is a day of the past and the future of Bulgaria. The young people today have the possibility to learn from and to use the lessons and the wisdom of our rich historical and cultural heritage. They have the chance to develop their European self-awareness, but also to defend our national pride and to remember our traditions as part of the big family of the European countries.
The strength gained from history and the contemporary achievements of Bulgaria and Romania show that particularly in EU we can be really free, because of the fact that this is one big political and economical community and space, where our identity can stand out.
The help given by Romania to Bulgarian refuges from Libya and to Romanian refuges by Bulgaria is the latest example of our partnership nowadays.
The freedom is a right and a responsibility, and Bulgaria and Romania share common responsibility for the setting up of the European values and the implementation of the piece in the region.

H.E. Mr Valentin RADOMIRSKI, Ambassador of Bulgaria to Bucharest