On the occasion of the first anniversary of the declaration of the liberation of Libya, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov said:
23 October 2012 News
On the occasion of the first anniversary of the declaration of the liberation of Libya, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov said:
A year ago, the Libyan people boldly declared their will to build a new free, democratic and economically prosperous country. Libyans decided to take responsibility for their future by rejecting the dictatorship of Colonel Gaddafi, who for decades had oppressed and robbed his own people.
The path to a new state that has the rule of law, is secure and democratic, is not guaranteed and will require constant and concerted efforts by all of Libyan society. Bulgaria, along with our partners from the EU and NATO, will continue to provide support for Libya’s legitimate authorities and society in building a new state and maintaining and developing Libya as a single, unitary state. Our own experience shows that overcoming the legacy of dictatorships is difficult and painful. Libyan society must consolidate its efforts to build a truly free media, a pluralistic political system and a functioning economy that safeguards the rights, freedoms and prosperity of all Libyans.
Bulgaria fully condemns acts of religious extremism and violence, and now is the time for reconciliation and the building of effective and legitimate state and public institutions, as the Libyan people deserve. I urge the new Libyan authorities to carry out a fair investigation of the AIDS epidemic in Benghazi, to reveal the true culprits for the tragedy of the Bulgarian nurses and the hundreds of Libyan children infected.