OPPOSITION PARTIES IN BULGARIA QUIT FIRST PLENARY SESSION FOR THE MONTH

Sofia Echo, Bulgaria
May 2 2007

Opposition parties in Parliament, among which Union of Democratic
Forces (UDF) and ultra-nationalist Ataka, quit plenary hall due to
procedural disagreements.

Ataka suggested agenda for the daily session, which received the
disapproval of the ruling majority. After a vote Ataka’s suggestion
was turned down, which led to the decision of opposition parties to
leave the plenary session.

Dimitar Stoyanov from Ataka said that the agenda was turned down
intentionally. The movement suggested the recognition of Armenian
genocide in 1915. A week ago the topic led to controversy.

UDF member Ivano Sotirov said that the incident was just continuation
of the practices that the ruling majority introduced long time ago.

All controversial issues are avoided through the manipulation of
procedures, he said.

The majority is running away from the specific topic, Sotirov said.

Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) member Ekaterina Mihailova said
that the ruling parties are exercising dictatorship of the majority.