site.btaUPDATED April Uprising's Heroes Showed Boundless Self-sacrifice Choosing Rebellion over Slavish Timelessness, Says National Assembly Chair

National Assembly Chair Nataliya Kiselova attended celebrations of the 149th anniversary of the April Uprising in Panagyurishte, South Bulgaria on Friday. "The heroes of the April Uprising showed boundless self-sacrifice by choosing rebellion over slavish timelessness, audacity over submission, national and human dignity over a bowed head," she said. 

The 1876 Bulgarian April Uprising against the Ottoman Empire precipitated the 1877-1878 Russo-Turkish War that led to Bulgaria's liberation, "which restored the Bulgarian State after 5 centuries of slavery and opened prospects for progress and development, because the choice was either an Asian despotism or a modern European state," Kiselova said.

In her words, the April Uprising heroes have powerfully declared their will for free life and equality, for their own nation state and progress. The uprising was brutally suppressed, thousands were killed, imprisoned, sent into exile, dozens of villages were looted and burned, but the revolt achieved one of its main political goals - a powerful wave rose in Europe in defence of the Bulgarians who made a desperate attempt to reject foreign oppression, Kiselova recalled. From June to September 1876, more than 200 European newspapers and magazines carried more than 3,000 letters, dispatches, articles and illustrations related to these events. Politicians, public figures, scientists, writers and journalists supported the Bulgarian people, she added.

The sympathy for the suffering of the Bulgarians was particularly strong among all layers of the Russian people, Kiselova argued. 

Victor Hugo, Dostoyevsky, Darwin, Mendeleev, Garibaldi, MacGahan and a number of other eminent personalities raised their voices in defence of the Bulgarians, added the National Assembly Chair.

"Fellow Bulgarians, for 149 years now, the April Uprising heroes have been our example of heroism, of sacrifice, of love for Bulgaria. Here in Panagyurishte, the capital of the Fourth Revolutionary District, and of the entire uprising, we express our respect and gratitude to those who with their bones laid the strong foundations of our freedom," she said. Kiselova added that the anniversary is an occasion to look at the contemporary messages that can be found in the legacy of the heroes of the uprising. "They teach us that we must believe in ourselves more, have the courage to face the challenges, no matter how difficult, because we will survive," she added.

Kiselova recalled the words of one of the initiators of the April Uprising - Stoyan Zaimov, who in a letter to Zahari Stoyanov noted: "The uprising of 1876 was a purely Bulgarian work, an independent work, an initiative, purely Bulgarian, supported by Bulgarian means, this does honor to our people."

"And today April Uprising's heroes call us to be united, to stand up against apathy, soullessness, because they are disastrous for the success of any national work, because the driving forces of progress are the brave, the daring, the shrewd, the leaders who set the direction and enthuse the nation," said Kiselova. "And most of all, the heroes of the rebellious April passed on to future generations their boundless love for Bulgaria and faith in its future. Glory! Eternal glory to the participants in the April Uprising, a bow to their sacrifice. Long live a free and independent European Bulgaria!" she concluded her speech.