site.btaPrime Minister Borissov to Meet with Patriarch, Grand Mufti on Monday

104 POLITICS - PRIME MINISTER - COMMENTARY

Prime Minister Borissov
to Meet with Patriarch,
Grand Mufti on Monday


Veliko Turnovo, North Central Bulgaria, March 9 (BTA) - Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov invited the Patriarch and the Grand Mufti to a meeting on Monday, which he announced at the 8th political academy of the Women's Organization with GERB here Saturday.

Borissov noted he finds it unpleasant being reproached by ruling partners in relation to amendments to the Religious Faiths Bill, and said GERB will never again compromise with ethnic tolerance.

He recalled the events during the Process of Rebirth, when Bulgara's Turks were be assimilated by changing their Turkish and Arabic names to Bulgarian and Slavic ones. "I will never allow such misery and terror, as far as it lies with me," Borissov said.

Borissov denied the accusations against him for striking a deal with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) and recalled that tens of thousands of Muslims are GERB members. He made it explicit that if there was a deal, it would be between Bulgarian Christians and Muslims inside GERB in order to establish equality, a normal religious life, and education with transparent funding.

His commentary was related to Bulgarian Socialist Party leader Kornelia Ninova's statement that the overriding of the presidential veto on amendments to the Election Code was the result of a deal between GERB, the MRF and the United Patriots. She then predicted that by helping to get the Religious Faiths Bill through, GERB will write off a debt of the Grand Mufti's Office to the State.

The Grand Mufti's Office is said to owe millions of leva in overdue corporate income tax, wages, and health and social insurance contributions.

At a BSP press conference, Ninova said that the presidential veto will be rejected by Parliament. "The MRF, GERB and the United Patriots all reject the President's arguments, as well as ours," she noted, adding that these actions point to a deal between the parties.

At the political academy, Borissov also outlined GERB's priorities regarding foreign policy, infrastructure and energy. LI/TH
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