site.btaMRF Deputy Leader Anastassov Pledges Allegiance to Delyan Peevski

Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) deputy leader Stanislav Atanassov remains loyal to party co-leader Delyan Peevski in a rift with Honorary Chair Ahmed Dogan. Speaking on bTV, he was asked if he would heed Dogan's call to resign along with Peevski and four others, he said he would "stay on to work for the people who trusted us".

He argued that Dogan's statement with the call for resignations was unprecedented and said that he recognized in it the style of Ramadan Atalai.

Atalai was a ranking MRF member, who was among the first to be removed by Peevski from the parliamentary group.

Also, Atanassov blamed the other MRF co-leader, Dzhevdet Chakarov, Dzheyhan Ibryamov and Ramadan Atalay for the rift.

Like other members of his faction did earlier in the day, he accused those loyal to Dogan of using "the ethnic trump card". More specifically, he said, "First, they mumbled under their nose that 'Bulgarians and Pomaks are taking the party' away from them. I heard it when Chakarov, Ibryamov and Atalay decided that somebody wants to take away 'their own party'."