“Trafficking and destruction of cultural valuables in conflict areas such as Iraq and Syria is a phenomenon gathering serious speed and it is considered an exceptionally serious military crime,” Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister for Coalition Policy and Public Administration and Minister of Interior Rumyana Bachvarova said speaking at a conference themed “Fight against the plundering of Syria’s cultural heritage”, organised by the Norwegian Embassy to Bulgaria and under the auspices of UNESCO, in partnership with the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU), the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture, the Interior Ministry, the Embassy of Cyprus and the Walk of Truth /Netherlands/ organisation.

“Destructions of the temples in Palmyra enhanced the sad statistics of irretrievably lost traces of the ancient civilisations.

Nowadays, more than ever, we need united and decisive measures to suspend what we call purposeful destruction of history, which we are currently witnessing,” the minister remarked.

Ms Bachvarova explained that this crime also concerned the destruction of our civilisation, adding she hoped that this attempt would not be realised.

“It is an honour to meet you in my capacity of interior minister and to discuss all aspects of the fight against cultural valuables trafficking from Syria.

This traffic is not only a threat in terms of destruction of the cultural heritage. Along with the traffic of people, weapons and drugs, it is a source of serious revenues for financing of the terrorist groups. It is important to examine the issue in this important aspect, too,” Rumyana Bachvarova commented further.

The interior minister remarked that Bulgaria was a country with thousand-year-old history and according to several studies it was ranked third, after Italy and Greece, in terms of artefacts smuggling.