The 1885 reunification of Bulgaria, the 9/11 attacks on the US in 2001 and… the 1978 murder of Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov. September is full of significant dates.

Unfortunately, for those wanting a close to the London, England, “umbrella-murder” case of Markov, it looks unlikely that a killer will ever be named.

On August 28 2008, The Houston Chronicle published a short article about the September 7 1978 pricking of Markov with a poison-tipped umbrella on Waterloo Bridge by an unknown assailant, though one thought to be sent by the communist – if not specifically Bulgarian – forces that dictated the life of half of Europe of the time.

The article included comments from Lyuben Markov (64), Georgi Markov’s cousin. It took place because of the upcoming 30-year anniversary – September 11 2008 – which, according to the Bulgarian statue of limitations, would close the case.

And blame could never be laid for Georgi Markov’s murder.

“I am bitter and disgusted,” Lyuben said in an interview with The Houston Chronicle. “No one has the guts to resolve it.”

Novelist and playwright Georgi Markov defected from Bulgarian in 1969, first going to Italy, where his brother lived, and then to England. In 1972, he began working at the Bulgarian desk of the BBC World Service, and later, for Deutsche Welle and Radio Free Europe.
His murder was not officially mentioned in Bulgaria until after 1989.

“The onus is on the Bulgarian authorities to show the judicial system works,” the European Commission said, as reported by The Houston Chronicle, referring to the EC’s July 23 2008 decision to stop aid to Bulgaria as a result of the country’s failure to crack down on corruption.

“I find it very worrying that the Bulgarian authorities are closing this case,” Julian Lewis, a UK Conservative Party lawmaker, said to The Houston Chronicle. “It is up to the Bulgarian secret services now to show they can operate on the level of a Western service, an ally of EU and Nato, and track down the murderer.”