site.btaPM Borissov: There Can't Be Political Forgiveness, Human Oblivion nor Statutes of Limitation for So-called Regeneration Process

113 POLITICS - PM BORISSOV - REGENERATION PROCESS - COMMENT

PM Borissov: There Can't Be Political Forgiveness,
Human Oblivion nor Statutes of
Limitation for So-called Regeneration Process


Sofia, December 29 (BTA) - There can't be political forgiveness,
human oblivion nor statutes of limitations for the so-called
regeneration process of forcible assimilation of ethnic Turks
during communist-era Bulgaria, said Prime Minister Boyko
Borissov in a Facebook post on Monday.

According to him, true democracy is the best guarantee that no
such crimes will be ever repeated. "What must uphold us, as a
modern European nation, is empathy for democratic values and the
unconditional condemnation of any manifestation of xenophobia
and national populism," Borissov further writes.

Borissov recalls that 25 years ago, on December 29, 1989, the
Bulgarian Communist Party's (BCP) Central Committee held a
special plenum, during which its chairman Alexander Lilov
presented a report titled: "For overcoming the atrocities
against the Turkophone and Muslim population in the country".
With this act, the communist party tries to hide the traces of
its biggest crime - the forcible name-changing campaign of
Bulgarian Turks, known in history as the Regeneration Process,
Borissov notes.
"The invisible but very serious damage to the souls of our
compatriots of Turkish descent, the violence against them and
their families have been turned by the communist party into
something, which as if could be deleted by a stroke or a whim of
the "reformer communists". As if nothing had ever happened," he
writes.

BCP tossed the Bulgarian Turks their freedom, but tried to win
much more for itself and this was the indulgence to not be held
responsible. Even more - it sealed it with a kiss on Eagle's
Bridge (referring to the kiss between socialist leader Sergei
Stanishev and Movement for Rights and Freedoms leader Lyutvi
Mestan at Sofia's Eagles Bridge during a political rally last
November, when Stanishev admitted his party's historical guilt
for the Regeneration Process). No one sought accountability in
the course of 25 years for this crime, called the Regeneration
Process, behind the facade of growing political corruption and
indifference.

Borissov recalls that the 41st National Assembly, formed by
GERB's majority, adopted a declaration, condemning the
Regeneration Process. Borissov once again noted that the
incumbents took power in a difficult time of distrust,
discouragement and a pale horizon. Bulgaria needs a political
dialogue and the common belief that together "we will be able to
outline a long-term horizon for our development," the PM
writes. LI/MY