September 22 (BTA) - Bulgaria marked the 113th
anniversary of the declaration of its independence on Wednesday.

On September 22, 1908, following a prayer service at the
historic Church of the Forty Holy Martyrs in the country's
medieval capital Tarnovo (North Central Bulgaria), Prince
Ferdinand I read a Manifesto proclaiming the vassal Principality
 of Bulgaria a kingdom independent of the Ottoman Empire.

The declaration of independence required considerable efforts by
 Bulgarian diplomacy to secure recognition from Great Britain,
Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Russia. At the end of the 1877-1878
Russo-Turkish War, the March 3, 1878 preliminary Treaty of San
Stefano ended 482 years of Ottoman rule over Bulgaria but did
not make it an independent State. Article VI of that Treaty
constituted Bulgaria "an autonomous tributary Principality".
Article I of the July 1, 1878 Treaty of Berlin confirmed this
status, defining Bulgaria as "an autonomous and tributary
Principality under the suzerainty of His Imperial Majesty the
Sultan".

In the course of 30 years, Bulgaria gradually repudiated its
vassal dependence on Turkey, stopping to pay its annual tax,
concluding international treaties, waging a war with Serbia
without the Sultan's sanction and declaring a union with the
Ottoman autonomous province of Eastern Rumelia on September 6,
1886.

The declaration of independence officialized the changed
situation in the Balkans and the country's new status as a
kingdom in its own right. It extricated Bulgaria from its
dependency past and put it back on the European map of
independent States.

A solemn liturgy and pealing of church bells of the Church of
the Forty Holy Martyrs early on Wednesday morning marked the
beginning of the celebrations of the anniversary in Veliko
Turnovo.

During a ceremony held in the landmark Tsarevets
Fortress President Rumen Radev received the guard of honour of
the Vassil Levski National Military School. The national anthem
was played and the national flag hoisted while 113 balloons in
the colours of the national flag were released in the sky.

In an address to the ceremony Radev said that preserving
Bulgaria's
freedom and independence requires the concerted will and effort
of everyone. Radev said that freedom and independence need to
remain the foundation from which the future generations can draw
 faith and strength.

In an address to the Bulgarian people on the occasion of the
anniversary, Patriarch Neophyte said that Bulgaria's
independence is a gift of god and a national achievement, but
also an exceptional responsibility which is in the hands of the
people.

Caretaker Prime Minister Stefan Yanev, political leaders and
figures of culture too addressed the Bulgarian people on the
occasion of the anniversary. RY/LG, ZH

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