HUNDREDS of Bulgarian fascists marched through Sofia on Saturday in honour of a nazi-supporting general who pushed for the country’s equivalent to the Nuremberg race laws.

It was the 15th annual “Lukov March,” named for General Hristo Lukov who was assassinated by communist resistance fighters on February 13 1943.

The government had banned the event, saying that it harmed the country’s international image. But judges said it could go ahead.

It was organised by the Bulgarian National Union, and saw hundreds of black-clad supporters walk through central Sofia holding torches and Bulgarian flags while chanting far-right slogans.

Police guarded the neonazis from counter-protesters and attacks by anti-fascists.

Gen Lukov served as war minister from 1935 to 1938 and led the pro-nazi Union of Bulgarian Legions from 1932 until 1943. He pushed for the viciously anti-semitic “Law for the Protection of the Nation.”

Organisers of the march ludicrously denied that Gen Lukov was an anti-semitic fascist or that they themselves were neonazis. They claimed that the descendants of those who brought Gen Lukov to justice were afraid of the event.

Bulgarian National Union official Plamen Dimitrov said fascists had travelled from Germany, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Estonia to join them.

“They are here today because the survival of all European people is jeopardised,” he ranted.

Even the embassy of the United States, which supports the nazi-worshipping regime in Ukraine, said: “General Hristo Lukov was a nazi supporter who promoted hate and injustice and is not someone deserving of veneration.”