Fri, May 25 2012

Bulgaria's Unification Day celebrations cancelled in the wake of Lake Ohrid tragedy

Sun, Sep 06 2009 15:55 CET

byPetar Kostadinov

1780 Views 1 Comment
Bulgaria's Unification Day celebrations cancelled in the wake of Lake Ohrid tragedy

Photo: Georgi Kozhouharov

All official celebrations on September 6 2009, the day marking the 124th anniversary of the unification of Bulgaria, were cancelled after 15 Bulgarian tourists drowned in the Lake of Ohrid in Macedonia a day earlier.  
 
In the city of Plovdiv, the venue for most of the celebrations, a commemorative church service was held in the presence of President Georgi Purvanov, Speaker of Parliament Tsetska Tsacheva and Plovdiv mayor Slavcho Atanasov. All fireworks, concerts, marches and parades scheduled for the day were cancelled.
 
Elsewhere, the official holiday was marked by planting flowers at monuments. September 7 was declared a day of national mourning
 
After the service in Plovidv, Purvanov spoke well of Bulgarian Government’s reaction to the Lake Ohrid tragedy. He said that the actions of Bulgarian institutions were well coordinated but the tragedy raised the question whether there was the need for a state body that could act in such unfortunate situations.
 
He was referring the fact that the ministry for disaster management was shut down by Prime Minister Boiko Borissov after he took power on July 27 2009.
 
 
 
 
 

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Comments

Anonymous Jon Mills Sun, Sep 06 2009 19:28 CET
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Typical - Purvanov could not resist a political comment. No nation needs a 'Ministry' for Disaster Management. Most manage with a coordinating officer and small staff that work with existing ministries such as Police, Defence, Medical, Transportation. Otherwise there is duplication of effort, uncertainty over responsibilities, and a lack of knowledge regarding providing ministries.


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