An initiative committee led by the historian Georgi Markov, has proposed that a monument to Khan Asparuh, the founder of the Bulgarian state, be erected on the site of the former Soviet Army Monument in Sofia, in order to serve as a unifying symbol for the entire nation, the Bulgarian news agency BTA reports.

According to members of the initiative committee, the location in the capital is highly symbolic, so any monument there must convey a unifying and indisputable message. 'The Soviet Army Monument has become a symbol of a controversial past, as well as of opposition and division,' the committee said.

“A monument to an occupying army that brought a regime to Bulgaria which killed 20,000 people shouldn't be in the centre of Sofia,” commented former politician Petar Beron. Poet Boyko Lambovski said that every mature nation must be careful about the symbols of remembrance it builds because they shape future generations.

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The intellectuals will submit a proposal to the Sofia Municipality to erect a monument to Khan Asparuh and request a meeting with all institutions involved in the issue.