Bulgaria Parliament Rejects Discrimination Commission Report

On Wednesday the majority of MPs criticized the report, arguing that the Commission had spent BGN millions but had only taken action on cases of discrimination four times in 2008. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

The Bulgarian parliament has rejected Thursday the 2008 activities report of the Commission for Protection against Discrimination.

On Wednesday the majority of MPs criticized the report, arguing that the Commission had spent BGN millions but had only taken action on cases of discrimination four times in 2008.

On Thursday the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) MPs and the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) both defended the Commission while the nationalist party ‘Ataka’, the governing center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) and the rightist ‘Blue Coalition’ strongly criticized it before it was eventually rejected.

Pavel Shopov, an MP from the rightist ‘Blue Coalition’ stated; "This is an institution that is not needed because if there is such an institution we must assume that there is discrimination in Bulgaria.”

The DPS MP and Commission Chairman, Kemal Eyup, concluded that he “regretted that the debate on the report had become politicized” and denied allegations that the body was biased.

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