Bulgaria's DPS Calls on Health Min to Resign over 'Roma Neighborhoods'

The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) has demanded that Health Minister Petar Moskov step down.

Tundzher Kardzhaliev, a lawmaker from the party dominated by ethnic Turks, made the announcement from the rostrum during an extraordinary session in Parliament.

He cited as a reason Moskov's decision that emergency medical aid teams should not be able to enter certain neighborhoods unless local officials guarantee this carries no risk to doctors and medical staff. In Moskov's words, 2/3 of recent attacks at medical teams involve representatives of the Roma minority.

Kardzhaliev read out a statement from the DPS in which Moskov's remarks are called "xenophobic" and his actions are described as "anti-democratic".

"Who do you think you are, Mr Minister?," the MP added as a personal comment.

The DPS's statement argues Moskov violated norms of democracy, the Constitution, various pieces of legislation, the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights.

Lyutvi Mestan, who heads the DPS, also commented on Moskov's actions: "Here we are 240 [MPs]. How many Roma lawmakers are there? Only two - within the DPS's parliamentary group. [This is] the party of integrity."

"The Roma vote for the DPS because they vote for themselves," he added.

In the past few elections the party has managed to garner a huge portion of the Roma vote in detriment to the Bulgarian Socialist Party, which had traditionally scored success among certain parts of the minority.

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