Condemnation, solidarity from Bulgaria after Paris terrorist attacks
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov said that he had followed with anger and indignation the news of the terrorist attacks in Paris.
“At this difficult time I express my solidarity with the French people and most sincere condolences to the families of the victims,” Borissov said in a Facebook post on November 14.
“I confirm our readiness to provide assistance in this difficult time for France. Terrorism will be defeated. This attack against France and the values that it represents, strengthens even further our will to combat terrorism,” Borissov said.
Bulgaria expresses deep indignation at the terrorist attacks in Paris and is shocked by the cruel and brutal attacks on civilians, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov said.
“We express our sincere condolences to the families of the victims and strongly condemn any form of terrorism,” Mitov said.
“We are in solidarity with the French people at this extremely difficult time,” Mitov said.
Bulgaria’s Nikolai Mladenov, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said in a message on Twitter, “Our thoughts and prayers are with #France and the victims of #ParisAttacks”.
In a subsequent post on Facebook, Mladenov wrote: “Today it is not enough to naively repeat how each of us is a Frenchman. Today is the moment to honour the innocent victims of terrorism in Paris, to pause and to think about what we do next. Anyone who thinks that the security of citizens can be built on shared tales about values is not in touch with reality. But also everyone who thinks that Europe will fight with hatred and terrorism, retreating from its values, also has no connection with reality. Enough already with Facebook incantations and Twitter politics. It is time for Europe to get rid of empty words and to give institutional and policy response to the biggest crisis of the decade in which we are living!”
Bulgaria’s Kristalina Georgieva, Vice-President of the European Commission, said in a tweet, “I have never felt so much love for Paris, for France and all the French people as I do today. #ParisAttacks”.
In a letter to her counterparts, the presiding officers of France’s parliament, the Speaker of Bulgaria’s National Assembly Tsetska Tsacheva said, “I am sure that this brutal criminal act will double the energy of the institutions, the civil society and the global democratic community for an unrelenting struggle with terrorism”.
The Shalom Organisation of the Jews in Bulgaria said in a statement that it sharply and strongly condemns the barbaric terrorist attacks in France.
“We express our sincere condolences and sympathy to the families and relatives plunged into grief.”
Shalom said that it opposed all manifestations of terrorism and hatred, “because terrorist attacks are against us all, against humanity and civilisation. We are all victims: Jews, Christians and Muslims”.
Terrorism and hatred presented the world with a difficult test, “which together we can overcome only through only united and firm action and determination. It is unacceptable to shed blood and take lives, to inculcate fear and intolerance in the name of religion, ideology or beliefs,” Shalom said.
Meanwhile, on Facebook, a Bulgarian group using the hashtag #JeSuisParisien was organising a flower-laying event outside the French embassy in Sofia at 7pm on November 14 in sympathy for the victims of the Paris terrorist attack.
