The Bulgarian National Alliance; officially registered as Bulgarian National Alliance Edelweiss ( bg, Български Национален Съюз Еделвайс), shortened as BNA "Edelweiss" ( bg, БНС „Еделвайс“), also called the Bulgarian National Union, is a Bulgarian

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

informal organization headquartered in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, founded in 2000 by Boyan Rasate, which claims to be a successor to the fascist

Union of Bulgarian National Legions The Union of Bulgarian National Legions (UBNL) ( bg, Съюз на Българските Национални Легиони (СБНЛ); ''Sayuz na Balgarskite Natsionalni Legioni'' (''SBNL'')), until 1935 the Union of the National Youth Legions ...

, led by general

Hristo Lukov Hristo Nikolov Lukov ( bg, Христо Николов Луков; 6 January 1887 in Varna – 13 February 1943 in Sofia) was a Bulgarian lieutenant-general, politician, and Minister of War, who led the nationalistic Union of Bulgarian National Le ...

History

The long-time leader of the organization is Boyan Stankov, who goes under the pseudonym ''Rasate'', host of ''National Guard'' ( bg, Национална гвардия, italic=yes) on the Balkan Bulgarian Television channel. In 2010, he stepped down as leader. In his place, Zvezdomir Andronov, Asen Krastev and Nikolai Nikolaev were elected co-leaders. In August 2007, after riots and demonstrations in the Krasna Polyana district in

, BNA "Edelweiss" announced that they would create a "national guard"an organization to protect Bulgarians, mainly from "Gypsy terror". Former leader Boyan Rasate headed the list of the Bulgarian National Union - New Democracy (BNU-ND) for the early parliamentary elections on October 5, 2014. On this occasion, BNA "Edelweiss" issued a public statement emphasizing that the they are not related to the BNS-ND party and that BNA "Edelweiss" does not "explicitly or implicitly" support any of the political parties participating in the elections. The organization cooperates in joint initiatives with the nationalist

IMRO – Bulgarian National Movement The IMRO – Bulgarian National Movement (IMRO–BNM; bg, ВМРО – Българско Национално Движение, translit=VMRO – Balgarsko Natsionalno Dvizhenie, VMRO–BND) is a national conservative political party in Bulg ...

and Blood & Honor. The organization has been registered as a non-profit legal entity for private benefit since 2001

Criticism

The Bulgarian National Alliance has been criticized for holding

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

and

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

views. The organization claims to be the successor to the

(UBNL), an

ultranationalist Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its sp ...

pro-fascist, and pro-Nazi organization in Bulgaria, active from 1932 to 1944 and is considered the most powerful fascist movement in Bulgarian history. Due to the group's organization in the annual Lukovmarsh, аnd also due to other events, the Bulgarian National Alliance is regarded as a proponent of

neo-fascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration sent ...

, neo-Nazi,

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

and

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...

ideologies.

Notes

References

{{reflist Fascist parties Neo-fascist parties Nationalist parties in Bulgaria Neo-Nazism in Europe Neo-Nazi organizations Religious discrimination