The Bulgarian Prime Minister, Sergei Stanishev has appealed for Bulgarian unity and support on the eve of one of the most holy dates in the Bulgarian calendar.

"It is a joy for me to address you on the eve of this great day for Bulgaria, and I do it not because it's appropriate or because I need to uphold tradition.

Tomorrow we will witness the 100th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence.

In the coming weeks and months we will celebrate and will accredit our achievements, our culture, our history our greatness, our progress. And, most importantly, the Bulgarian spirit which is responsible for everything we have achieved throughout history.

We are a strong, powerful and proud people. We have suffered many wars and hardships in the past century and we have survived. And this has made us stronger and wiser because every battle and every challenge has made us more resilient and determined.

Today the Bulgarian nation is more prosperous and more liberal than ever before. We enjoy unthinkable - until recently - freedoms and achievements. We are a European nation with dignity and a full member and partner to our European counterparts. Our voice is heard loud and clear, and everyone respects our opinion and our interests.

Now is the time for us to decide for ourselves what this Independence means to all of us. As Bulgarian and European citizens, our future and our faith lies only in our hands, we must march on ahead with pride and with determinaiton. We have achieved a lot but this is just the beginning.

Dear countrymen,

I appeal to all of you to rejoice tomorrow in Bulgaria's celebration.

Allow some time to talk to your children. Tell the young why we are so proud of being Bulgarian and what Bulgaria means to us. Tell them about our heroes, about our history, about our glorious past. Tell them about those who fell in battle and gave everything for the motherland. Tell them about our 1300 year history so that they will in turn tell their children. Our bond, our blood cannot be torn and our memories and our hopes are common.

Bulgaria's future lies in the hands of the new generation. Let us remember this 100th anniversary, as this is a day that happens only once in a lifetime.

This is the day when the most precious thing is a unified, proud and independent Bulgaria.

Happy Anniversary, Long Live Bulgaria."

This statement is from Bulgarian Prme Minister in his official address to the nation.