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stefan tafrov @tafrov

Stefan Tafrov recounted that on November 10, 1989, he found himself in a hotel in the Latin Quarter of Paris. After three years of waiting, the authorities allowed him to accept an invitation from the French government as a specialist in French literature. He pointed out that he was the first member of his family to cross the Iron Curtain. Tafrov was watching the news at 7 PM when he learned that Todor Zhivkov had resigned. He immediately called his father in Sofia. According to him, his father advised him not to return to Bulgaria after the beating in the "Crystal" garden, as there were threats of reprisals due to his involvement in the Democratic Club and other human rights organizations. After Zhivkov's resignation, his father told him he could come back. Tafrov wrote that a week earlier, the philosopher Jacques Derrida, whom he knew and described as a supporter of the opposition in communist countries, offered to help him get a scholarship for his doctorate with him. After a few days of hesitation, Tafrov decided to return to Bulgaria. He noted that he participated in the changes as one of the founders of the SDS and the newspaper "Democracy," and later served as an advisor to President Zhelyu Zhelev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in both SDS governments, and ambassador to Italy, the United Kingdom, France, and the UN. Tafrov clarified that the photo accompanying the publication is from the first free rally on November 18. He called for a free and democratic Bulgaria and expressed his opposition to the restoration of communism and subservience to Moscow. #СвободнаБългария #Демокрация #История (translated)