State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2015 - Bulgaria

Political instability continues to beset Bulgaria in the wake of the collapse of the socialist-led government in July after barely a year in office. Snap elections in October resulted in a precarious coalition between former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's centre-right GERB party, which garnered the most votes, with the Reformist bloc, a group of small pro-market parties. The coalition also secured the support of the nationalist Patriotic Front, whose policies include building a wall on the Turkish border and limiting welfare support, of which the Roma minority are among the principal recipients.

Tied for second place was DPS, the ethnic Turkish minority party, with 15 per cent of the vote. During the campaign DPS proposed a bill to make Turkish language lessons compulsory for Turkish students in public schools. Under current laws the language course is elective and the use of Turkish during public election campaigning is banned. Shortly after the election, DPS proposed further bills in parliament to penalize ethnic crimes committed during Communist rule in the country and to review the 1991 Revival Process laws which force ethnic Turks who are Bulgarian citizens to accept Bulgarian names on official documents. However, in November the coalition government, prompted by the Patriotic Front, suggested moving the twice-daily Turkish news bulletins from the national broadcasting stations to cable channels.

Roma are still subjected to high levels of discrimination. Estimates vary regarding the size of the Roma population in Bulgaria. According to the 2011 census, there were over 325,000 Roma, constituting 4.9 per cent of the population. However, commentators point to the fact that feelings of stigma may lead Roma to self-identify as belonging to other groups; they put the figure at double the census results or even higher.

More than half the community live in ghettoized neighbourhoods on the edge of urban centres. The remaining Roma population live in poor isolated villages scattered throughout the country. A 2012 study on housing deprivation by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions found that Roma in Bulgaria are far more disadvantaged than nearby majority populations: for instance, they were 'three times more likely to lack access to improved forms of sanitation and almost eight times as likely to live in sub-standard housing, such as shacks and other run-down buildings'. Since 2010, the European Commission has overseen the national Bulgarian strategy for Roma integration and in the spring it published the results of its latest assessment of their situation. Although some progress was noted, it found that significant action was required in every area of implementation. Specifically, the report called for a constructive dialogue with the Roma community and the development of anti-discrimination activities to support Roma integration. Positive initiatives for promoting Roma inclusion were observed in the west of the country, where civil society, international donor organizations and local authorities are working together to integrate Roma into the wider community through initiatives such as desegregated school transport, extra-curricular activities such as volunteering, microfinance and various mentoring schemes involving Roma youth.

Nevertheless, prejudice remains. Two incidents in the second half of 2014 highlight the problems that urban-dwelling Roma face in terms of lack of secure tenure and limited access to basic services. In July, Roma residents of 55 houses scheduled for demolition clashed with riot police after forming a human chain around their homes. The structures were deemed illegal, having been built without permits in a Roma suburb of the city of Stara Zagora. Two protesters were arrested and the demolition eventually proceeded as planned. In December, Bulgaria's health minister Petar Moskov faced criticism when he suggested during a speech in parliament that ambulances should be barred from entering Roma neighbourhoods, claiming that medics were unsafe in predominantly Roma areas. The Sofia-based human rights watchdog, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, described the speech as 'incitement to racial hatred'.

In March the release on bail of a security guard charged with shooting and killing a Roma teenager in 2013 triggered protests by minority groups, which were countered by nationalist demonstrations. Civil society groups have reported a surge in nationalist and xenophobic sentiment, leading to an increase in attacks on ethnic and religious minorities. Unfortunately, this xenophobia is shared by a significant portion of the population, as suggested by recent research conducted by Sofia University which found that half of the city's residents would not want to live in a neighbourhood with African, Arab, Chinese or Roma communities.

Racist attitudes towards religious minorities have been encouraged by Bulgaria's nationalist political wing. In February, in spite of protests from Jewish groups and the ethnic Turkish party, DPS, Bulgarian nationalists marched through Plovdiv to commemorate Hristo Lukov, a Second World War general who espoused anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi views. The annual rally, which is accompanied by pro-fascist and xenophobic slogans, had been banned from Sofia by the city's mayor. The march was organized by the far right Bulgarian National Union. This was followed in June by the defacing of Sofia Central Synagogue with pro-Nazi graffiti alongside a swastika. According to the Anti-Defamation League, 44 per cent of Bulgarians harbour anti-Semitic attitudes – 10 per cent higher than the average for Eastern Europe as a whole.

The extreme nationalist party Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization continued to organize protests in front of the courthouse in Pazardjik against the wearing of religious attire and the propagation of Islam. In August the Chief Mufti of Bulgaria announced that there had been 12 hate crime attacks against Muslims and Muslim places of worship since 2012. The most recent attack was reportedly on Karaja Pasha Mosque in July.

In a report on religious intolerance in Bulgaria in 2013, released in July, the US State Department criticized the government for failing to consistently protect religious freedom in the country, citing incidences of anti-Semitism, discrimination against Muslims and harassment of Jehovah's Witnesses. Given that the religious minority communities reside predominantly in urban areas, Bulgaria's cities and towns often provide the setting for the most severe examples of xenophobia and hate speech. In February, for example, over a thousand protesters attacked the historic Dzhumaya mosque in Plovdiv, hurling bricks and fireworks at the building. Of the 120 people detained by police, eight were charged with hooliganism and received fines or other minor sentences. The protest followed moves by Bulgaria's Chief Mufti to have properties historically owned by the Muslim community formally returned to the community.

The situation of refugees in Bulgaria, particularly in urban areas, is illustrative of the discrimination faced by minorities. Unused to hosting large numbers of refugees, the government has been unable to respond effectively to the influx of thousands of Syrian refugees. According to the FCJ Refugee Centre, Bulgaria previously received about 1,000 asylum seekers every year; in 2013, however, this figure leapt to 9,100, with 4,000 coming from Syria alone. Though conditions appeared to improve later in the year, the influx has put pressure on housing in urban areas and given rise to xenophobic reactions. For example, in April residents of one village petitioned to evict three Syrian refugee families just two days after they moved into rented accommodation in the village. Konstantin Penchev, the National Ombudsman, said that their actions were a demonstration of intolerance and could not be justified. Most of the refugees who remain in Bulgaria identify as Kurdish. In an interview with the FCJ Refugee Centre, Nikolay Chirpanliev, the chairman of Bulgaria Refugee Agency, described Syrian refugees of Kurdish origin as 'a lot worse than our Gypsies in every aspect'. This comment demonstrates the high level of institutional prejudice against ethnic minorities.