Foreign ministers of Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro commemorate the 12 Bulgarian children who died in the Lim river
06 April 2014 News
The foreign ministers of Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro commemorated the 12 Bulgarian children who died in the Lim river
Today brings us back to the tragic date of April 4, 2004, when a bus full of Bulgarian children from the town of Svishtov, returning from a trip, suffered a severe car accident and fell into the turbulent waters of the Lim river. The river took the lives of Aleksandra, Antoana,Antonia,Boryana, Valentin, Viktor, Gloria, Zhenya, Lora,Svetoslava,Svetoslav and Julian. May the memory of thetwelve Bulgarian angels be bright and everlasting.
With these words Minister Kristian Vigenin addressed today the relatives of the children who died in the tragic accident, as well as the rescue workers, citizens and officials who gathered at the memorial monument of the victims of the Lim river accident in the village of Gostun. The commemoration, initiated by the Bulgarian side to mark the 10th anniversary of the tragedy, was attended by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and Montenegro – Ivan Mrkić and Igor Lukšić .
The Bulgarian state and the Bulgarian people will never forget the heroism and sacrifice of our friends, brothers and neighbors from Montenegro and Serbia, pointed out Minister Vigenin. He recalled the names of Dr. Suad Numanovic, Tarzan Milosevic, Stevan Puric, Esad Koshtreba, Mile Vukovic, Izedin Pushia, Željko Bozovic, Zuhdiya and Zaim Ahmetovic, Safet Nisic, Safet Balichevac and many others who participated at the high-risk rescue operations and the placement of the survivors. There are times when words are not enough to express the feelings. Thus, I want on my behalf and on behalf of the Bulgarian people to say a sincere "thank you," said Kristian Vigenin.
In his words, the sympathy, warmth and empathy, shown by the local people have grown into a deep friendship between the peoples of Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro. Its visible dimensions can be seen in the annual placement of wreaths and flowers at the monument "12 roses" in Bijelo Polje and the memorial of the victims of the train accident in 2006, as well as the general worship in memory of the twelve children at the "Angels of Lim" memorial in Gostun, he added.
According to Minister Vigenin, the universal and eternal values of solidarity, humanity and empathy are laid in the unshakable foundations of this friendship. He expressed confidence that these values will continue to unite the peoples of the three countries and will help strengthening their friendship, neighborliness and European future.
Earlier today, the three foreign ministers laid a wreath at the "12 roses" monument of the victims of the bus crash and at the monument of the victims of the railway accident near Bioc in Bijelo Polje. Kristian Vigenin, Ivan Mrkić and Igor Lukšić met with the leadership of the Municipality of Bijelo Polje and the mayor Alexander Zuric. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro visited Prijepolje where they held talks with the mayor Emir Hasimbegovic. Kristian Vigenin and Ivan Mrkić visited Mileševa monastery where they talked with Bishop Philaret.
The general message of today's meeting with my two counterparts is that this tragedy and the reaction of the local people gives us politicians a lesson in humanity, solidarity and good neighborliness, said Kristian Vigenin. We must demonstrate these qualities also in calm days in order to build together a better future for our peoples, he added.
For his part, the Serbian Foreign Minister expressed sympathy to the relatives of the children who died, noting that the pain of loss remains high. Ivan Mrkićsaid words of gratitude to the rescuers who proved they have "lion hearts." Our three nations are close because our history is connected, but we become even closer due to our common future, he said.
The Montenegrin Foreign Minister Igor Lukšićpointed out that today reminds us of the tragedy, but also of the rescuers. This day reminds us for what is important – to put efforts in order to improve the environment in which we live, to derive motivation for joint initiatives that contribute to our better future, he said.
As a sign of gratitude for the help in the rescue operation, the MFA donated medical equipment to two hospitals in Bijelo Polje and Prijepolje, and the Ministry of Education and Science provided two multimedia projectors to the schools in the municipalities.
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