Bulgaria Champion British PM Gladstone 200 Year Anniversary

Portrait of William Ewart Gladstone, champion of the cause for the human rights of Bulgarians following their uprising against 500 years of Ottoman rule. Picture by nationalgallery.co.uk

Tuesday, December 29, 2009, has marked the anniversary of the birth of British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone.

Gladstone enjoyed an extended and successful career at the helm of British politics in the Victorian era. He became Prime Minister on no fewer than four occasions in his long and active life.

A lifelong Liberal, he became the darling of Bulgaria when, in 1876, he published a short but influential pamphlet condemning the atrocities committed on the Bulgarian population by the occupying Ottomans, whose empire had dominated and repressed the country for almost 500 years.

The publication of "The Bulgarian Horrors", inspired by recent newspaper reports of events in Bulgaria in 1876, following the early beginnings of the Bulgarian Uprising, and filed by an American correspondent working for the British press and reported by the American Consul based in Istanbul, caused a furore in Britain, and helped to support him back again into the British premier position.

However, apart from any personal political aspirations, his stance was widely seen as a genuine plea in support of basic human rights, and for the acceptance of Bulgaria as a European nation.

It was about "the rehabilitation of the Bulgarian people as a nation equal within the European family, a people with a praiseworthy background and culture. The pamphlet is an accusation of the lawlessness of the Ottoman Empire, a response to the feeling of guilt and a rallying call to the responsibility of Great Britain, which was the guarantor for all Christians inside the Empire," said Bulgarian Professor Michael Meltev on the anniversary of Gladstone’s bi-centennial.

Prof. Meltev is one of several Bulgarians who have worked throughout the year to ensure that the name of this Victorian politician, and his intervention in support of Bulgaria, are not forgotten.

Colleagues, including Associate Prof. Rumen Genov, an expert on Gladstone and the politics of the period, have organized a series of commemorative events through the autumn and into the new year to recognize the debt that is owed to this champion of rights.

They include the organizing of scientific conferences, naming a hall at the New Bulgarian University after Gladstone, mounting an exhibition and a concert, and erecting a commemorative monument. As part of all these activities, a TV documentary film produced by Prof. Meltev is also dedicated to the anniversary.

For the full interview with Prof. Meltev click HERE

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