SOFIA, Bulgaria, March 3 (UPI) -- A ceremony in Sofia for Bulgaria's 130th year of independence was marred Monday by political bickering over mourning for last week's eight train fire victims.
Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov, who is also supreme commander-in-chief of the armed forces, oversaw a flag-raising ceremony banned by Sofia mayor Boyko Borissov, the Sofia News Agency reported.
Early Monday, Borissov banned any ceremonies, saying the country should be in mourning instead for the eight victims of Thursday's fire on the Sofia to Kardam overnight train.
"It is not proper to wait for all victims to be identified before a period of mourning is declared," the mayor said in a statement.
Two of the charred bodies had not been identified by Monday, the report said.
The country traces its formation to March 3, 1878, when the Peace Treaty of San Stefano was signed at the tiny town, now called Yesilkoy and a suburb of Istanbul, between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, the news agency said.
