‘No to Nazis on our Streets’ to be held in Bulgaria’s Sofia on February 22
The latest annual “No to Nazis on our Streets” demonstration will be held in Sofia on February 22, as a protest against the “Lukov March” planned for that day.
The Lukov March, held in Sofia every February since 2003, honours a pro-Nazi leader of the fascist Union of Bulgarian National Legions, and draws neo-Nazis from various parts of Europe.
The “No to Nazis on our Streets” event, starting at 1pm outside the Central Mineral Baths, a few hours before the scheduled start of the Lukov March, is organised by Antifa Bulgaria.
It said that after the pan-European neo-Nazi organisation called “Fortress Europe” was established in Sofia in 2019, “we think that it is time for the society in the country to wake up and stop the silent consent to its own transformation to fascist”.
Antifa Bulgaria said that today, the ideological heirs of Lukov “tend to show themselves in more and more places around the country, organizing torch processions and other obvious or covered up neo-Nazi events”.
It pointed to the recent suicide of Emil Krumov, a member of the Bulgarian National Union Edelweiss, organiser of the Lukov March. Krumov shot himself at the State Agency for National Security building after being summoned there for questioning in connection with an investigation into the Bulgarian National Union Edelweiss. After his death, an arsenal of weapons and a photo of Hitler were found at his home.
“Authorities have said they are investigating a potential intent for mass shooting, and the Bulgarian National Union is subject to prosecution investigation and a possible ban.”
The Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office has applied to the Sofia City Court to de-register the Bulgarian National Union Edelweiss under the law on non-government organisations.
Separately, the 2020 Lukov March has been banned by the mayor of Sofia, but the ban has, for the latest year, been overturned in court.
Antifa Bulgaria said that the Lukov March would probably proceed, with the “silent endorsement of Bulgaria’s authorities at all levels”.
