Bulgaria

Racist Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe

Volumn , Issue , 2004, Pages 1-27

  Ivanov, Christo ^a   Ilieva, Margarita ^a  

^a Bulgarian Helsinki Committee   (Bulgaria)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 84905776406     PISSN: None     EISSN: None     Source Type: Book    
DOI: 10.4324/9780203002377     Document Type: Chapter

References (165)

1. Census National Statistics Institute data, at: http://www.nsi.bg/Census/Religion.htm.
2. Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, Ethnic Minorities in the Press, Sofia: Bulgarian Helsinki
3. Committee, 2002. http://www.vmro.org/ustav.htm.
4. The "Macedonian issue" pertains to the asserted original Bulgarian identity of Macedonians living in what is now the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), perceived by a great number of Bulgarians to be a part of the Bulgarian nation, unfairly separated from the homeland.
5. http://www.vmro.org/ustav.htm.
6. "Tseli," at: http://www.vmro.org.
7. This indirectly discriminates against Roma and Turkish people, among whom proportions of high school graduates are substantially lower."VMRO-Napreduk za Bulgaria," at: http://www.vmro.org.
8. The VMRO Plovdiv leader and local mayor, Alexander Dolev, has declared "legal war" on
9. Jehovah's Witnesses, claiming that "foreign sects have no place in Bulgaria and should go back to where they came from" (Obektiv 3, 1999).
10. The VMRO National Youth Committee secretary, Anguel Dzhambazki, said that intolerance was a necessary attitude towards "sects," and that the law should discriminate between traditional and non-traditional religions, with an effective police force reducing the latter's influence (Macedonia 19 March 2002).
11. Sega 10 January 2002;
12. Duma 11 January 2002
13. Position of the Executive Committee of the VMRO, 20 February 2002. Leader Karakachanov stated that Roma in Stolipinovo claimed "extraordinary rights at the expense of the majority."
14. See 24 Chasa 15 April 2002
15. Standart 20 February 2002
16. http://www.vmro.hit.bg/IMRO-mo-structure.html.
17. Interviews, experts, March-April 2002, Sofia.
18. Interview, expert, March 2002, Sofia.
19. http://mtmbm.tripod.com/~NIEJtfOJWHLY/nie.htm.
20. http://mmbers.tripod.com/~NIE_MONTHLT/nie.htm.
21. http://www.macedoniainfo.com/.
22. http:/members.tripod.com/~konservativen_forum/index.html.
23. http://www.digsys.bg/bgnews/media.html?media=68195086.
24. Leader Gueorguiev publicly speaks of Bulgarians as "an Aryan nation" and performs the Nazi salute, most recently at a BNRP rally on 20 April 2002. in Sofia. Neo-Nazi tendencies are also manifest in the BNRP's affiliation with skinheads.
25. Programa na Bulgarskata natsional-radikalna partija, September 1995
26. Sega 29 September 2001, available at: http://www.segabg.com.
27. Sega 29 September 2001 and Tema 13-19 May 2002, available at: http://www.temanews.com. He was probably referring to affiliated skinhead gangs (Interview, National Security Service experts, April 2002, Sofia). The claims are unconfirmed.
28. Duma 21 March 2002
29. Tema 13-19 May 2002
30. Duma 5 October 2000
31. 24 Chasa 5 May 2002
32. The SBNL was a right-wing nationalist, anti-Semitic political movement during the 1930s and in Nazi Germany-allied Bulgaria, advocating a "nationally powerful and socially just Bulgaria." Seen as pro-Nazi, the SBNL, claiming more than 200,000 followers at the time, was banned after the communist take-over in 1944.
33. Although most historians agree that the SBNL had a strong fascist element to its ideology, its heir organizations, the BDF and the Bulgarian National Front, deny it was fascist, and claim it was "patriotic." Former SBNL leader Ivan Dochev claimed the organization was tolerant towards Jews, and actually protected them from German persecutions. See RFE/RL Newsline 15 May 2000
34. http://bdf.hit.bg.
35. Duma 22 March 2002
36. Monitor 22 March 2002 and 7 May 2002
37. http://bns.host.sk (as of 6 June 2002).
38. BNS programmatic statement "Our Struggle" (Nashata borba), at: http://bns.host.sk/Bg/borba.html, with a slightly tuned-down English version at: http://bns.host.sk/En/borba.html.
39. http://bns.host.sk/Bg/borba.html.
40. http://bns.host.sk/Bg/borba.html.
41. Monitor 22 March 2002
42. Monitor 22 March 2002 and
43. Duma 22 March 2002
44. The BNS banner appears at: http://www.skadi.net(Top 100 Nationalist and Revisionist Sites), among other indications.
45. V.Siderov, Bumerangut na zloto, Sofia: Zharava 2002, 2002"Communism was imposed by Jews," 27 December 2001;
46. "Howjews use power," 18 March 2002;
47. "Jewish moaning against religious persecution," 18 February 2002
48. Among many more examples, see articles with titles such as "Debate on the real history of Europe may not be incriminated" (9 April 2002);
49. "Bulgaria's gypsification" (12 April 2000);
50. "Dogs and Gypsies harass a neighborhood of T." (24 April 2002);
51. or "Jewish Racism" (12 April 2002).
52. E.g. "Rights activists shy away from no baseness" (27 February 2002);
53. "Soros' protégées taint Bulgarian history" (13 March 2002).
54. E.g. "The fascism scarecrow is preparation of an attack against freedom of speech" (9 April 2002);
55. "Manipulations with anti-Semitism and nationalism are an attack on Bulgarian statehood" (3 May 2002);
56. "Who wants us to become Kosovo" (28 February 2002).
57. As is clear from articles with titles such as "Stop the racial discrimination of Bulgarians" (21 January 2002);
58. "Bulgarophobia on the rise" (20 March 2002);
59. "The Great Powers' fight for the Balkans has begun" (27 February 2002);
60. "National treachery is the fashion" (14 April 2002).
61. At: http://www.zone168.com.
62. Avi-tohol 18, 2002
63. Monitor 21 May 2002
64. Monitor 21 May 2002
65. At: http://galileo.spaceports.com/~irnik/.
66. Previously at: http://nfb.voininatangra.org.
67. As of July 2002 at: http:/wot.hit.bg.
68. Available at: and http://www.kanatangra.wallst.ru. The Ruse branch site is at: http://www.thule.hit.bg.
69. http://www.thule-seminar.org/.
70. The BNFe has for long sustained relations with former king Simeon II. In April 2001, it called upon its supporters to voter for the NMSS, Simeon IFs political movement, in the parliamentary elections of that year. See Sega 4 May 2001
71. Available at: http://members.tripod.com/~borbaBNF.
72. Chasa 17 May 2002
73. Trud 20 November 2000
74. http://www.stranicata.com/snd/all.htm.
75. At: http://zigani-romi.dir.bg/.
76. Interview with Anguelina Dicheva, expert, Central Commission against Minor Delinquency (Tsentralna komisia za borba s protivoobshtestvenite projavi na maloletnite i nepulnoletnite), Sofia, April 2002. Interview, expert, National Security Service, Sofia, April 2002
77. Colonel Natasha Nikolova, chief of the "Child Crime" unit within the Sofia Directorate of Internal Affairs, in Focus 20, 2001
78. Focus 20, 2001
79. OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Report on the Situation of Roma and Sinti in the OSCE Area, 2000, p. 39, available at: http://www.osce.org/hcnm/documents/reports/roma/report_roma_sinti_2000.pdf.
80. Human Rights Project and Romani Baht Foundation, Annual Reports, 1997-2000.
81. Focus 20, 2001
82. Interview, journalist, Dnevnik, Sofia, April 2002
83. Available at: http://www.bhbulgaria.com (as of July 2002).
84. Hitler-2 in Pernik, Race and Nation (Rasa i Natsija) in Gabrovo.
85. Interview, expert, National Security Service, Sofia, April 2002
86. Interview, expert, National Security Service, Sofia, April 2002.
87. Other sources, unconfirmed, cite 800. See Zname 20 April 2000 and http://www.bhbulgaria.com.
88. Interview, expert, Anguelina Dicheva, Central Commission Against Minor Delinquency, Sofia, April 2002
89. Including http://ultras-levski.faithweb.com; http://hooligans.hit.bg; http://ultra-loko.hit.bg; http://botevfans.cjb.net; http://ss-botev.hit.bg; http://www.ultracska-bg.co.uk/CSKASS.htm.
90. Report by Mr. Alvaro Gil-Robles, CoE Commissioner for Human Rights on his visit to Bulgaria, 17-20 December 2001, available at: http://stars.coe.fr.
91. E.g. Concluding Observations of the CERD: Bulgaria, 23 April 1997. E/CN.4/2001/66.
92. E.g. US Department of State, Bulgaria, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, March 4, 2002, at: http://www.state.gov/gfdrl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8238.htm.
93. E.g. Report on the Situation of Roma and Sinti in the OSCE Area, 2000, pp. 39-41, at: http://www.osce.org/hcnm/documents/reports/roma/report_roma_sinti_2000.pdf
94. Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Report on Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Bulgaria, 2 September 1998, at http://stars.coe.fr.
95. Among various others, see the Bulgarian section of the AI's Annual Report 2001 at: http://web.amnesty.org/web/ar2001.nsf/webeurcountries/BULGARIA.
96. World Report 2002, Bulgaria, Human Rights Developments, at http://hrw.org/wr2k2/europe6.html.
97. World Report 2001, Bulgaria, Human Rights Developments, at: http://www.hrw.org/wr2k1/europe/bulgaria.html.
98. E/CN.4/2001/66, Report of the Special Rapporteur, Sir Nigel Rodley, submitted pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution 2000/43, 25 January 2001
99. Bulgaria, Gountry Reports on Human Rights Practices, released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, March 4, 2002, at: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8238.htm.
100. On CoE's concerns, see the various reports at: http://stars.coe.fr.
101. ECRI, Report on Bulgaria, 15 June 1998, available at: http://www.coe.int/T/E/human_rights/Ecri/1-ECRI/2-Country-by-
102. countryapproach/Bulgaria. ECRI, Second Report on Bulgaria, adopted on 18 June 1999, made public on 21 March 2000, available at: http://www.coe.int/T/E/human_rights/Ecri/1-ECRI/2-Country-by-country_approach/Bulgaria/Bulgaria_CBC_2.asp#TopOfPage.
103. Anguelova v. Bulgaria, judgment of 13 June 2002;
104. Velikova v. Bulgaria, judgment of 18 May 2000;
105. Assenov and Others v. Bulgaria, judgment of 28 October 1998
106. European Commission, 2000 Regular Report on Bulgaria's Progress towards Accession, available at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/report2001/bu_en.pdf.
107. European Commission, 2001 Regular Report on Bulgaria's Progress towards Accession, available at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/report2001/bu_en.pdf.
108. OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Report on the Situation of Roma and Sinti in the OSCE Area, 2000, pp. 43-44, available at: http://www.osce.org/hcnm/documents/reports/roma/report_roma_sinti_2000.pdf.
109. Constitutional Court Ruling N 1 of 29 February 2000
110. The Court has recognized the constitutionality of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, a Turkish minority party, which has gained continued parliamentary representation and is currently a member of the ruling coalition. Constitutional Court Ruling N 4 of 21 April 1992
111. Constitutional Court Ruling N 4 of 21 April 1992
112. Constitutional Court Ruling N 7 of 4 June 1996
113. http://www.coe.int/T/E/human_rights/Ecri/1-ECRI/2-Country-by-country_approach/Bulgaria/Bulgaria_CBC_2.asp#TbpOjPage; http://www.osce.org/hcnm/documents/reports/roma/report_roma_sinti_2000.pdf.
114. World Organization against Torture, Human Rights and Policing in Bulgaria, Romania and Poland, Brussels: OMCT Europe, European Office, 2001, p. 16, available at: http://www.omct.org/displaydocument.asp?DocType=Background&Index=107&Language=EN.
115. For example, there was a series of communal racist extremism campaigns in August 2001 in two villages, Oryahovitza and Stezherovo. The local Bulgarians threatened to burn down the Romas' homes if they failed to leave. See Trud 28 August 2001 and Republika 1 September 2001
116. See Obektiv june 2002;
117. 24 Chasa 1 July 2001;
118. Demokratsija 21 September 2001
119. Trud 12 August 2001
120. See the various reports on the websites of Amnesty International (http://www.amnesty.org); the European Roma Rights Centre (http://www.errc.org/index.shtml);
121. Human Rights Watch (http://www.hrw.org);
122. the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (http://www.bghelsinki.org/frames-reports.htm), as well as World Organisation against Torture, Human Rights and Policing in Bulgaria, Romania and Poland, 2001, OMCT Europe, European Office, p. 24;
123. K.Kanev, Minority Protection in Bulgaria, Budapest: Open Society Institute, 2001
124. K.Kanev, Minority Protection in Bulgaria, Budapest: Open Society Institute, 2001, p. 117, at: http://www.eumap.org.
125. Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, Annual Report 2001, available at http://www.bghekinki.org/frames-reports.htm.
126. OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities, Report on the Situation of Roma and Sinti in the OSCE Area, 2000, p. 44, available at: http://www.osce.org/hcnm/documents/reports/roma/report_roma_sinti_2000.pdf.
127. Obektiv September 2001
128. Interview, expert, National Security Service, Sofia, April 2002
129. In September 2001 the Chief Mufti praised the country for its "ethnic and religious tolerance" claiming that it had "succeeded in building a model for ethnic and religious tolerance" in the region.
130. See Novinar 10 September 2001
131. See Sega 26 September 2000
132. The Chief Mufti expressed concern over those instances to then-president Stoyanov and the media. See Mediapool 10 October 2001 and Dnemik 9 October 2001
133. Obektiv June 1999
134. Monitor 18 May 2000
135. Duma 1 June 2000
136. Trud 29 March 2002
137. Around 2,000 copies were sold according to Zhar Ptitsa manager Evgueni Mateev in Obektiv March 2002.
138. The Orthodox fundamentalist "Boomerang of Evil" sold even more, 810,000 copies, according to author Volen Siderov in 24 Chasa 5 April 2002
139. A small selection from January 2002 alone: residents, actively supported by the mayor and the BSP, organized to prevent the government from building a refugee facility in Tsarevo (Monitor 26 January 2002 and
140. Novinar 8 January 2002);
141. the mayor of Levka announced that the community opposed government plans to construct temporary facilities for migrants near the village (Standart 14 January 2002);
142. the mayor of Boljarovo filed a protest letter with the government, signed by all municipal councillors, against government plans to build a refugee facility in the vicinity of the village (Demokratsija 29 January 2002).
143. Bulgarian Helsinki Gommittee, Annual Report 2001, Sofia: Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, 2002
144. Interview, NGO expert, Association for Refugees and Migrants (Asotsiatsia za bezjiantsi i migranti). The non-governmental Association for Refugees and Migrants has reported fourteen skinhead attacks on migrants in the period 1999-2001.
145. See Obektiv September 2001
146. Interview, expert, National Security Service, Sofia, April 2002
147. Colonel Natasha Nikolova, chief of the "Child Crime" unit, Sofia Directorate of Internal Affairs, in Focus 20, 2001
148. Interview, expert, Anguelina Dicheva, Central Commission Against Minor Delinquency, Sofia, April 2002
149. Interview, expert, Anguelina Dicheva, Central Commission Against Minor Delinquency, Sofia, April 2002
150. For example, in Razgrad, in January 2002, a civilian tied up an alleged Roma thief caught red-handed, put a sign around his neck saying "I am a thief," and brought journalists to take pictures of him. The local prosecutor and chief of police denounced the act as a grave breach of human rights and rule of law, and instituted criminal proceedings against the perpetrator (Monitor, 28 January 2001).
151. However, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior announced the Ministry would instead reward him (Standart, 30 January 2002).
152. Monitor, 27 April 2002
153. Mediapool 4 January 2001
154. Demokratsija 9 April 2002
155. Mediapool 10 October 2001
156. Monitor 31 January 2002
157. The presentation of the openly anti-Semitic "Boomerang of Evil" in January 2002 was attended by a number of prominent public figures including a well-known writer and academic, a professor of history, a famous artist and art professor, as well as the leader of one of the two largest trade unions, and many journalists (Monitor 24 January 2002).
158. Representatives met with President Purvanov to demand a ban to be imposed on distribution of Nazi publications. See Standart 6 March 2002
159. Novinar 14 May 2002
160. Novinar 26 February 2001
161. ECRI has recommended measures to counter prejudice and racism in the educational system (1999 Report), including human rights teaching illustrative of the dangers of racism and intolerance (1998 Report). The reports can be found at: http://www.coe.int/T/E/human_rights/Ecri/1-ECRI/2-Country-by-country_approach/Bulgaria/.
162. Monitor 4 August 2001
163. E.Barouh (ed.), Jews in the Bulgarian Lands: Ancestral Memory and Historical Destiny, Sofia: IMIR, 2001
164. K.Kanev, "Changing Attitudes towards Ethnic Minorities in Bulgaria and the Balkans, 1992-1997," in T.Sficas and C.Williams (eds), Ethnicity and Nationalism in East Central Europe and the Balkans, Aldershot: Ashgate, 1999, p. 209.
165. Research by Alpha Research. See Kapital 20 January 2001