Turkish minority party in Bulgaria complains to EPP

Boiko Borisov said in an interview that he was in full support of the "events" in the 1980s under communist leader Todor Zhivkov that saw ethnic Turks forced to change their names to Christian ones and to abandon their Muslim faith, in line with communist Bulgaria's anti-religious policy, Bulgaria's daily, Sofia Echo, reported citing another Bulgarian daily, Dnevnik.

Borisov's party, the Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), tops opinion polls conducted ahead of general elections to be held next July.

"Such statements are completely out of place and in total disregard of the values of all democratic European parties," Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) deputy leader Lyutvi Mestan was quoted Thursday as saying by Dnevnik.

"The reference to the 'Events' of the early 1980s is a crime, not only against the Turkish ethnic minority in the country, but against all humanity," Mestan said.

He said it was deeply regrettable that after all these years of democracy in Bulgaria, there were still predominant strong anti-Turkish and anti-Muslim sentiments in Bulgarian politics.

Mestan said that this time around the party would not allow itself to be dragged into any sort of ethnic confrontation.

"To any such discriminatory attempts, we will retaliate twice as hard with openness and tolerance," he said.

In an interview with Bulgarian National Television last week, Borisov said that all newborn children in Bulgaria should be given Christian Bulgarian names, but they could retain their father's family names, regardless of ethnic background.

His views drew outrage from President Georgi Purvanov, Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, the MRF, and much of the rest of the country's political establishment.

RISING ETHNIC TENSION
The leader of the MRF, Ahmed Dogan, warned last week of rising ethnic tension in the country in the run-up to general elections next July.

In an interview with the best-selling daily Trud, Dogan said he was "dumbfounded" by "furious hatred" against him, his party and the Turkish minority, following the mysterious suicide death of his secretary Ahmed Emin.

"The inciting of ethnic tension has already started. If the genie of ethnic confrontation is let out of the bottle, how would I calm down my people?" Dogan asked.

Emin shot himself on Oct.17 while waiting to talk to Dogan in his residence in a well-to-do Sofia neighborhood.

He left an enigmatic note to his leader warning that "what is happening now is a monstrous scenario for returning Bulgaria to 1989" when nationalist and anti-Turkish feelings were rife.

After the fall of communism in 1989, Bulgaria's 10-percent ethnic Turks were allowed to resort to their old Turkish names after being forced to adopt Bulgarian ones in 1984-1985.

Dogan established the MRF immediately after the fall of communism to represent the Turkish minority. MRF has been a partner in Bulgaria's last two governments.

However, the suicide of Emin has been the subject of speculation, with the right-wing and nationalist opposition suggesting Emin was the keeper of an MRF slush fund -- which may have lain behind his suicide.

Following the suicide, "ethnic tension has started to rise," Dogan said. "An anti-MRF, anti-Turkish campaign is underway."

Photo: AP