Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

top
A man points a gas pistol at Bulgaria's Turkish party leader Ahmed Dogan in Sofia/AFP

World

Gas-pistol attack on Bulgaria politician fails

Dogan’s ability to control his voters ensured the liberal MRF’s participation in two successive coalition governments between 2001 and 2009.

The MRF is now in opposition to the right-wing government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

Dogan’s interrupted address, read out later in his presence by another MRF member, claimed that a recent “demonisation” of his image was detrimental to the party ahead of general elections in July.

He urged delegates to support Mestan’s candidacy and to make “a common effort to change public opinion about the MRF and its leader”.

Dogan lashed out at the premier, accusing him of seeking to “replace democracy with dictatorship” by stifling the market economy and controlling the media.

Dogan has prided himself for his role in maintaining Bulgaria’s ethnic peace while ethnic conflicts raged in the country’s Balkan neighbours in the 1990s.

The Turkish minority, which was subjected to drastic assimilation policies under communism, won key rights under his leadership including free religious expression, political representation in parliament, Turkish classes in schools and Turkish-language news broadcasts on state television.

Dogan’s political versatility and diverse coalitions with conservatives, liberals and socialists (ex-communists) over the years however attracted criticism from all sides, mostly for his authoritarian ways, political arrogance and alleged corruption.

Revelations that he had collaborated with the communist police before turning against the political regime and being imprisoned in 1985 also alienated many of his supporters.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

About The Author

Pages: 1 2

Comments
Advertisement

More on Capital News