The constitution of  Bulgaria republic

Article 39.

(1) Everyone shall be entitled to express an opinion or to publicize it through words, written or oral, sound or image, or in any other way
(2) This right shall not be used to the detriment of the rights and reputation of others, or for the incitement of a forcible change of the constitutionally established order, the perpetration of a crime, or the incitement of enmity or violence against anyone.

Article 40.

(1) The press and the other mass information media shall be free and shall not be subjected to censorship.
(2) An injunction on or a confiscation of printed matter or another information medium shall be allowed only through an act of the judicial authorities in the case of an encroachment on public decency or incitement of a forcible change of the constitutionally established order, the perpetration of a crime, or the incitement of violence against anyone. An injunction suspension shall lose force if not followed by a confiscation within 24 hours.

Article 41.

(1) Everyone shall be entitled to seek, obtain and disseminate information. This right shall not be exercised to the detriment of the rights and reputation of others, or to the detriment of national security, public order, public health and morality.
(2) Citizens shall be entitled to obtain information from state bodies and agencies on any matter of legitimate interest to them which is not a state or official secret and does not affect the rights of others.

 

…Forward, brothers! Take the guns to meet the enemy to save our native land and to gain our freedom!

Oh, Bulgarian fellow! Prove that you also live, show how you appreciate the dear freedom.

By today’s rebellion with fight and your own blood, you will gain freedom. Break the yoke that cuts your neck like a saw!

You, who seek freedom, honour and human rights for yourself, protect the freedom, honour and rights of everyone who addresses you in their desire to have them.

Be a hero, fearless in your fight against the enemy, fight bravely, but, also, be benevolent to the poor slave!

From now on, in the name of the Bulgarian people, we announce to the whole world that we long for either freedom or death for all people.

Forward, brothers! God is with us!

From the proclamation adopted at the Grand National Assembly in Oborishte as Notes on Bulgarian Uprisings by Zahari Stoyanov:

 

…The revolution had to start and many lives had to be lost…I would personally prefer them to be bigger and more horrifying. Left alone, we cannot beat Turkey, but we can arouse sympathy with our ugly misfortunes, by our martyrdom and rivers of blood leaking out of Bulgaria’s body…This all is a sign of existence: nobody thinks about the dead man – only the alive have the right to live…We execute one human duty: we have tried to win our freedom with blood but with no success…This is a pity, bit it’s not shameful…It would be a shame and even a crime only if we did nothing…if we spat on out ideal, if we forgot about the fires and the blood which is flooding Bulgaria…

                                                                                   from Under the Yoke by Ivan Vazov, 1877

… Freedom is… what is it? It is to go wherever you want without being bothered, and with not a single village crier or bey being after you. Well…But you, teacher, had better tell our people that when the time of our people comes, the land will be ours again and we will work hard on it. Once it is ours, we will never divide it into two: a share for us and a hundred for the aga. These people live only for the land, it is everything to them. Tell them not to be afraid of the ottomans, tell them to let their fear leave their hearts. It’s for their good. And the light will be in their eyes again and this time forever. Well, this is freedom…

 

                                                                                   from Elijah’s Day  by Dimitar Talev        

 

About Freedom

by Kosta Lulchev

 

(published in the Free People newspaper, edition number 42 / 7^th March 1946)

 

Freedom is neither a privilege nor human dignity. It is a right. It belongs neither to a particular individual nor to a particular group. It belongs to everybody. No one has the right to deprive other people from their freedom. Freedom is a personal belonging. Whoever takes it or abuses other people’s personal belongings is an enemy of the people, an enemy of freedom…

 

If freedom does not belong to everybody, then it does not belong to anyone and cannot be considered freedom at all. No one has the right to abuse it. No one has the right to do anything which is considered to be violent or vicious in the name of freedom. It does not need violence because it vehemently denies it. When freedom reigns, there is no violence.

 

Freedom creates conditions for the development of the most noble feelings and propensities. It raises the individual from a slave to a citizen and gives an impulse to him. It is a condition for the development of all abilities and brings energy to the genius inside every individual.

 

The purpose is freedom to become a brotherhood. Only then, the world will be aspirated to go for its most elevated pursuits. Tyranny kills the individual and the humanity in him. It is a total negation of all manifestations of brotherhood and humanity.

 

The main rights of any citizen and any human being are the freedom of speech and thought, freedom of publication and cooperation, freedom of political activity and self-assertion… When these particular kinds of freedoms ere missing, conditions for free and normal political, social, and private life are missing, as well… The impossibility of free thinking implies narrow-mindedness and declining of the individual’s level of conscience…The impossibility of free publication and speech implies reaching the lowest point of mental and ideal aspiration…

 

Hundreds of battles nave been led and millions of lives have been lost in the name of freedom. In the name of freedom died the Apostle (Vassil Levski), in the name of freedom the son of Kalofer (Hristo Botev) gave his life, hundreds of other known and unknown people have died in the name of this freedom. That is why it is so precious.

 

Limitation of any kind is a sacrilegious encroachment upon freedom. A political government has to guarantee and protect everybody’s freedom and not to violate their rights. When a government does not protect the freedom and takes it from people, or tramples on it, this authority is an authority rejected by people. When a people feels free, it is independent and peaceful.

 

We do not have the right to seek freedom when we need it, and are no allowed to give it or allow other people to have it when they need it. The human spirit is always high and human mind is always searching for unanswered questions. The human spirit and mind cannot be limited or stopped by anything. Nothing and nobody will ever put shackles on it. Being under pressure, they explode and change the accepted standards and rules till that moment…

 

The prime necessity for citizens is to have the right to free thinking, free publication, free organization, and free political activity. When a person cannot express freely their opinion, when they are persecuted for something said or done, in a way which is unacceptable for a particular type of social system, when they cannot be politically active because they risk being sent to prison for their political beliefs – there is just no freedom!...

 

Freedom belongs to everybody. No one has the right to deprive other people from their freedom.  No one has the right to abuse other people’s personal freedom taking it from them so that he controls and prevents them from doing what they want and think is right.

 

The arrest of Kristio Pastuhov provides strong evidence for the lack of freedom in Bulgaria.

 

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