With declarations from the parliamentary rostrum, the political formations in the 49th National Assembly marked the 108th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

The leader of "Vazrazhdane" (Revival) Kostadin Kostadinov reminded:

"The genocide against the Armenians is not only a tragedy for them, but also a crime with global dimensions against civilization and humanity. This is the beginning of the process of erasing Christianity within the boundaries of the then Ottoman Empire 100 years ago."

Among the dead were 50,000 Bulgarians, Kostadinov reminded.

Ilina Mutafchieva from WCC-DB noted:

"Aghet, the Armenian word for an unimaginable crime, is the way to best describe what was done against humanity against the Armenian people."

Atanas Zafirov from BSP pointed out:

"The marking of this date is also a tribute to all those who fell victim to mass persecutions, systematic, deliberate extermination and ethnic cleansing. May God forgive the souls of the martyrs!"

History knows many painful moments and they should not be used for political purposes, urged the leader of DPS Mustafa Karadayi:

"Such topics should be left to historians. We politicians should look for ways of reconciliation and dialogue, for unification, not as an occasion for division."

GERB-SDS MP Toma Bykov made an analogy with today's situation:

"And when we all come out here and condemn the actions of the Ottoman Empire 100 years ago, but we are not able to clearly and categorically condemn the actions of the Russian Empire in the present, it means that maybe we are a bit hypocritical."

The chairman of TISP's parliamentary group, Toshko Yordanov, expressed regret that the topic is again being used politically and read the poem "Armenians" by Peyo Yavorov, reminding:

"The Armenian Genocide is part of Bulgarian history. Just as our ancestors fled from the horror of the Ottoman Empire in Bessarabia or in Banat, in the same way a part of the Armenian people fled to free Bulgaria and became part of our history and whatever we say here, the Bulgarian people have a clear attitude towards this tragedy".

On April 24, 2015, in connection with the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the event, the Bulgarian National Assembly adopted a declaration acknowledging the mass extermination of Armenians.

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/Bulgarian National Radio

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