An official address of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) wing close to honorary chair Ahmed Dogan, released on Sunday, states that the Bulgarian political class must distance itself from former party chair Delyan Peevski. Peevski was expelled from the party by the MRF Central Operative Bureau on August 27.
"In recent months the MRF has found itself in an unconventional situation for its long history, becoming hostage to the sick ambitions of one of its two legitimately elected chairs," the statement reads. It points out that "these are ambitions for a one-man rule of the party, expressed in making important political decisions for the party and the country independently, without having the necessary discussions about them, neither with the other chairman of the MRF [Dzhevdet Chakarov], nor in the collective bodies of the party".
"In the face of Delyan Peevski, our party has encountered his pathological passion, the takeover of businesses and companies by him, to be transferred to the field of making politics by taking over political parties. The MRF has the resistance forces to define the problem and deal with it with determination, (Peevski's legitimate exclusion from party membership and the admission of fatal dependence on him by other members of the leadership, in line with the same desire of our members and sympathizers, is not in doubt)," the position said.
According to the MRF wing close to Dogan, it is not certain that other parties that are threatened by the same raiding efforts of Peevski will be able to cope successfully. "In this regard, our appeal "Bulgaria without Peevski" is not just an appeal in a desperate act of self-preservation on our part. It is the only and extremely necessary way to free statehood in Bulgaria from the shackles of dependencies and corrupt practices at the highest levels of government," the MRF wing noted.
"More than once during the years of the country's transition [to democracy], through the diagnoses of many of the diseases of Bulgaria's young democracy, made by the MRF honorary chairman Dr Ahmed Dogan, he has been accused of being responsible for their emergence. There really are no innocents in our entire political establishment. But very important is the fact that it was Dr. Dogan who was one of the few, during his active participation in the political life of the country, who at key moments for Bulgaria was pre-emptively proactive and pointed out not only the diagnoses but was also an essential part of the treatment. The case is no different now, but it is dramatically more important for the future development of our country in the complex geostrategic reality. This necessitated his return to the operational management of the party in accordance with its constitution. This is what our message is about today," the position paper further said.
"The MRF is as adept at admitting its mistakes as it is at finding the right solutions at difficult moments for the country. Whatever price has to be paid by the parties and their leaders, decisiveness in action and escaping fear for personal and party benefit are needed," the position paper said.
"The Bulgarian political class needs to be strictly distanced from Delyan Peevski. Just as our Euro-Atlantic partners have reacted boldly, through personal sanctions and categorical declarations against him and his actions," the position noted.
On August 27, the MRF Central Operative bureau expelled Delyan Peevski, one of the two MRF chairs (the other being Dzhevdet Chakarov) and floor leader of the MRF, and MRF ranking members Halil Letifov, Iskra Mihaylova-Koparova, Jordan Tzonev, Hamid Hamid, Stanislav Anastassov, Radoslav Revanski and Erten Anisova. Later in the day, Peevski said in a statement that he saw that "there was a meeting of defectors from the MRF, who were expelled from the parliamentary group".
Members and supporters of the MRF wing close to Dogan gathered on Saturday for a third day in a row in Sofia's Boyana suburban neighbourhood in front of one of Ahmed Dogan's residential properties. A dense police cordon has blocked off the approach to the street where the property is located.
Supporters of Dogan and supporters of Peevski have gathered in front of the Central Election Commission (CEC) awaiting the start of registration for the upcoming elections, scheduled for September 2. Both groups said that they will stay there until Monday morning to be the first to register the "authentic" MRF for the autumn elections. Both groups argue they have gone there first and that the other has to wait in line.
/YV/
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