This February the Bulgarian government banned the annual neo-Nazi Lukov March, which was set for February 25 in the capital city Sofia. The cancellation was due to pressure from foreign embassies, international Jewish organizations and several of Bulgaria’s own political ministries and parties.  The parade dates from 2003, when neo-Nazis from around the world began marching in a torchlit parade honoring Hristo Lukov, the former leader of the pro-Nazi Union of Bulgarian National Legions (UBNL) during World War II. Prior to leading the UBNL, Lukov served as a lieutenant-general during World War I and Minister of War from 1935–1938. In these capacities he fostered close ties with senior Nazi officials in Germany. The parade’s organizers, the Bulgarian National Union-New Democracy Party (BNU-ND), insisted that Lukov was neither an antisemite nor a neo-fascist but a war hero...

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