site.btaGERB Reconfirms Support for Istanbul Convention, Slams Socialists for Not Backing Its Ratification

Sofia, January 14 (BTA) - The ruling GERB party reconfirmed its support for the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, known as the Istanbul Convention. Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva told a news briefing in the party headquarters that they don't give up the plans to have the convention ratified by Parliament and slammed the Socialists for deciding against the ratification.

The convention was approved by the government despite the opposition of some of its members, but its ratification by Parliament is questionable as parties both in the majority and the opposition are objected to some of its provisions, seeing them paving the way to the introduction of what they call "a third gender".

On Saturday, the leadership of the opposition Socialist party, which is divided in its position on the convention, voted not to support its ratification.

Zaharieva said her hope is that the Bulgarian Socialists would listen to Party of European Socialists (PES) President Sergei Stanishev who is among the convention's advocates.

She recalled that last November PES Women held a rally in Brussels calling on the EU member states to ratify the convention the soonest possible, and said there is "an odd inconsistency" in the Socialists' position: "when they are in Brussels they support it and when in Bulgaria they oppose it as it might bring them political digidends and pump up their approval rating".

Zaharieva further said that no provision in the convention would force Bulgaria to recognize same-sex marriages, third gender or other gender - which is what the opponents say the convention would do. "Neither is it true that the convention will force Bulgaria to accept refugees of a gender different from the male and female. The convention aims to show that Christian Europe does not accept it as normal to have women forced to marry, be mutilated or raped by strangers or by family members," said Zaharieva.

She also said that the convention was not hastily adopted: a debate on its has been on since 2013. "A survey in ten Bulgarian regional courts found that 91 per cent of the murders of women were done by men, that 35 per cent of the murderers were the partner or husband, 25 per cent by a relative and 31 per cent by a man the victim had known. Only 9 per cent of the muderers were strangers to the victim," said Zaharieva.

Justice Mister Tsetska Tsacheva said that the convention can be ratified after a broad discussion in Parliament - or it can be ratified with reserves.

"Anyway, the convention will be signed by the European Union and under our Constitution its enforcement in Bulgaria will be mandatory," she explained.

Parliament Chair Tsveta Karayancheva said that an open debate is the plenary is scheduled on Wednesday and all political parties, non-government organizations and religious denominations are invited to participate.