“Our filial duty is to pay tribute to the memory of all people who did not come back from the battlefields. We owe them gratitude and reverence.” This is what Head of State Rumen Radev said, who took part in the solemn commemorative ceremony at the Bulgarian military cemetery “Novo Selo” in the Republic of Macedonia.
After welcoming the participants in the military parade on the occasion of the Day of Bravery and the Bulgarian Army in Sofia, the President visited the military memorial in Novo Selo in the Republic of Macedonia. Rumen Radev laid a wreath in memory of the Bulgarian soldiers who died in World War I.
“The bones of 71 Bulgarian soldiers lie buried in this place. But it is not just here, there are hundreds of more places where Bulgaria’s sons who fell in the wars for its liberation and national unification lie buried,” the Head of State said.
“The good traditions of contemporary Europe require that the once-warring countries should pay tribute to the dead together, conveying messages of reconciliation and unity,” Rumen Radev said and voiced his contentment with the fact that the civilized spirit of unity and reconciliation is becoming more marked in the Balkans.
“Decades on end we observed how monuments and graves of Bulgarian officers and soldiers outside today’s Bulgaria became victims of political struggles and were destroyed, blown up, levelled to the ground, and desecrated,” the President said. In his words, today we live in different times thanks to the intense actions to ensure rapprochement and strengthen the interaction between the two countries and to the fact that the people on the two sides of the border largely approve of these actions.
“We highly appreciate that the Republic of Macedonia has stated its readiness to restore and maintain the monuments and graves of Bulgarian soldiers and officers,” Rumen Radev said and reiterated Bulgaria’s readiness to provide any material support and expertise for the restoration, which is consistent with the two countries’ shared European values.
The ceremony at the military memorial was attended by official guests, Assembly deputies, clerics, the National Guard Orchestra, the orchestra of the Lyubomir Pipkov National Music School , citizens and guests.
Archbishop Stephen of Skopje held a prayer service at the memorial along with Metropolitan Naum of Strumica.