The April Uprising is the moral foundation on which Bulgaria exists today, said caretaker Culture Minister Nayden Todorov during a conference dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the 1876 April Uprising at the BTA National Press Club in Veliko Tarnovo on Sunday.
“If it weren’t for the sacrifice of these people, there would be no pressure from all sides, there would be no Russo-Turkish War, there would be no March 3rd,” he pointed out, noting that the beginning of modern Bulgaria for him is precisely on April 20. He emphasized that Bulgaria’s neighbours celebrate their national holidays associated with the beginning of their national liberation movements and not with the date of Liberation itself.
April 20 carries the message that freedom is not a given, but something that people must fight for and defend constantly, Todorov argued. “The April Uprising should not be perceived only as a heroic epic, it should also be viewed through the prism of today’s times”, he said, adding that the events must be taught through today’s experiences and not just reproduced in the language of people today.
“We must think about what we have gained with the sacrifice of these people and learn our lesson, namely that it will be difficult for us to succeed if we are not together,” the caretaker minister stressed. He expressed hope that April 20 will be celebrated as a national holiday in Bulgaria in the future.
BTA’s series of conferences are part of a joint initiative with Bulgarian National Television (BNT) and Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), called “14 Centuries of Bulgaria in Europe”, aiming to commemorate anniversaries in Bulgarian history that are significant for European history through to 2032, when 1,400 years will be marked since the establishment of the first Bulgarian state in Europe – Old Great Bulgaria. The most interesting moments from the conversations will be included in the April issue of LIK magazine, which BTA will dedicate to the 150th anniversary of the uprising.
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