site.btaThree MPs of Movement for Rights and Freedoms Leave Parliamentary Group, Become Independent

Three MPs of Movement for Rights and Freedoms Leave Parliamentary Group, Become Independent

Kurdjali, Southern Bulgaria, December 26 (BTA) - Three members of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) parliamentary group - Shabanali Ahmed, Hyusein Hafazov and Aydoan Ali - are leaving to become independent MPs. Hafazov said in Momchilgrad (Southern Bulgaria) on Saturday that the decision to relieve MRF Chairman Lyutvi Mestan from his post and to expel him from the party is unjust and does not represent the feelings among MRF voters, and that the three MPs fully support all of Mestan's actions thus far. Hafazov hinted that he, Ahmed and Ali might be followed by other MPs of their parliamentary group.

On December 24, MRF's governing body - the Central Council - decided to remove Mestan as MRF head and expel him from the party, after MRF honorary chairman and former long-serving leader Ahmed Dogan publicly reproached Mestan for supporting Ankara following the downing of a Russian fighter aircraft by Turkey in November.

Bahri Omer, regional leader and founder of MRF in Kurdjali, said that the central leadership cannot take "quick-firing" decisions on important matters, and that in a normal party the processes should be seriously analyzed. Omer will remain MRF member but he will reconsider his membership if he is subjected to pressure.

Mestan said in Momchilgrad that for a very short period of time after Thursday's decision of the MRF Central Council, he had been with his family in a foreign embassy in order to ensure his and their safety. He did not reply to a question on whether he will create a new party, saying that the voters' assessments in this direction are yet to come.

Mestan and the three MPs of MRF who plan to become independent were in Southern Bulgaria to take part in a commemorative event dedicated to the anniversary of the so-called Regeneration Process, a campaign of Bulgaria's Communist regime in the early 1980s to force the local Muslim minority to adopt Slavic names, limit their religious activity and refrain from speaking Turkish in public.

Also attending a commemorative event were the three new MRF co-chairpersons: Roushen Riza, Mustafa Karadayi and Chetin Kazak. The mentioning of their names was accompanied by boos from participants in the rally.

Speaking in the village of Mogilyane, Karadayi underscored that "there are bacilli and viruses everywhere", referring to Lyutvi Mestan, but that the MRF's organism is strong and will overcome the challenges.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was expected to but did not attend the commemorative event in Mogilyane.