With Thracians from all over Bulgaria, Vice-President Iliana Yotova honored in the historic area of Petrova Niva, the 121st anniversary of the Ilindensko-Preobrazhensky Uprising. “Here at the Thracian Oborishte, a handful of heroes gathered to continue the fight for a free and united Bulgaria. They stood up against the designs of the Great Powers, who did not want a strong Bulgaria, were not interested in the fate of a nation that lived in slavery for five centuries, but did not forget itself, its faith and its language and rose from the ashes, the Vice President said in his speech of the National Memorial Assembly, broadcast by BTA.
Iotova congratulated the municipality of Malko Tarnovo, the Union of Thracian Societies in Bulgaria, which, with the support of the state and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, for another year organized the commemorative celebration to honor the heroes of the Ilinden-Preobrazhensky Uprising. “We are all here because we want to have memory, to know our long history. The national commemorative assembly is the alarming bell ringing that wakes up the sleeping conscience of people who today are capable of breaking their own biographies, but also the history of our people, changing facts with ease. "Such people should not be allowed to make decisions for the Bulgarian people," the vice president emphasized. “Our strength is in memory. We want the steel thread that connects us to the past, which teaches us lessons, makes us Bulgarians, gives us self-confidence, to be even stronger. This thread also paves the way to the future”, Iliyana Yotova pointed out.
In her speech, she emphasized the message of the heroes of the Ilinden-Preobrazhensky Uprising – when united, the Bulgarian people can overcome any difficulty. “Are we worthy of this message today, when hatred is pouring in from everywhere? We have nothing to share – we have a Motherland, we must protect and develop it for our children”, the vice-president said.
Iotova pointed out that in the long Bulgarian history there are many wounds that have left scars. “One of the open wounds is the Thracian cause, which has not yet received justice. "I and President Rumen Radev will always fight for this cause and we will not give up," assured the vice president.