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Russia-Trained Civil Militias Along Bulgaria's Borders Are ‘Ready for War With Refugees’
15
June, 2016
At
least 800 people are involved in organized militias
that hunt refugees along the borders of Bulgaria. According to
their leader, they receive free training from Russia.
An
investigation by German public television channel ZDF aired
on June 8 found that at least half of these men have done stints
in the Bulgarian military. They wear masks and military
camouflage, and most carry knives. Some, however, have
guns as
well.
The
idea of civil patrols in Bulgaria is nothing new. But the
practice has re-emerged as the number of refugees from Syria
entering the country increased in 2013 and 2014.
By
the end of 2013, an estimated 15,000 Syrian refugees had entered
Bulgaria illegally, seeking safety. However, the small EU country,
awash with its own political and economic instability, has not been
able to cope with the influx of asylum-seekers. In an
effort to stem the arrival of new refugees, the Bulgarian government
authorized the construction of a 30-kilometre barbed wire fence
running along the border with Turkey. Tension between
refugees suffering from poverty and unemployment and local
communities have spiked.
These
civil patrols are a consequence of the inadequate response
to the problem by authorities and then government of Plamen
Oresharski. First
they cropped up in Sofia, the capital, and since 2015 there have
been a number of patrols on the Bulgarian-Turkish border that
had developed into de-facto paramilitary organizations.
At
first, these “patrols” did not carry weapons openly. They become
more popular and more militarized with the establishment of
several refugee centers in and around Sofia. These include the main
center in Ovcha
Kupel, Voenna
Rampa andVrazhdebna,
which are administered by the Bulgarian State
Agency for Refugees.
An unknown number of migrants also occupy apartments in
central areas of the capital.
Migrants have received
mainly residency documents and shelter for them and their families,
but Nationalist circles in Bulgaria began leveraging the
increasing numbers of refugees for local political purposes and to
increase their visibility among Bulgarian citizens. Boyan
Rasate, for example, the leader of Bulgarian
National Union – New Democracy (BNU-ND),
a National Socialist political party based in Sofia, leads one of
these civil patrols, claiming that he's doing so in order to be
“patriotic and to protect Bulgarian values”.
During
the last three years, the Syrians and other refugees have continued
to suffer an increasing number of attacks in Bulgaria's capital. On
December 2, 2013 two
Syrian refugees have been assaulted by
a group of 20 men armed with knives and chains. The two victims, aged
27 and 35, suffered a broken nose and knife injures to the head.
On
November 9, 2013, a 28-year-old Bulgarian man of Turkish descent was
beatenafter
being mistaken for an immigrant. Other xenophobic attacks
include the stabbing of an 18-year-old Malian boy and a 17-year-old
Syrian national between November and December 2013.
At
the end of 2013, human rights group Amnesty International expressed
alarm at
the increase in xenophobic hate crimes against immigrants in
Bulgaria and the anti-immigrant protests being organized by
far-right groups. Quoted in an Amnesty statement on 12 November
2013, spokeswoman Barbora Cernusakova said that “There is an
alarming and dangerous rise in xenophobic feeling in Bulgaria and the
onus is on the authorities to prevent it, but instead many recent
government statements risk inflaming the situation.”
Pushback
and unauthorized border patrols
According
to Bulgarian police data, 1,500 people are stopped every month from
crossing the borders from Turkey and Greece. Between end of May and
the beginning in June 2016 several reports have
appeared about groups of people who managed to pass from
Greece to Bulgaria. The news agency Novinite reported that 53
migrants were quickly sent back to Greece by the Bulgarian
authorities. Another group of 34 were
caught in a freight train on
the route from Greece to Bulgaria. Another Novinite report claims
that one day, in the space of 24 hours, another
215 migrants were prevented from entering Bulgaria: 62
tried to cross the border between Greece and Bulgaria at Novo Selo,
155 tried to enter from the border with Turkey. As a result of
these incidents, the
Bulgarian authorities deployed army units on
the border with Greece.
As
news about refugees became more frequent “civil patrols” began to
appear on the border with Turkey. Legally, they do not have the
right to make arrests, but they perform them anyway. The patrols
have been reported, for instance, to have “captured”several Afghan
nationals,
and in February 2016 Dinko Valev, a 29-year old from the small
town of Yambol, was praised in Bulgarian media as a “superhero”
for catching a group of Syrian refugees “with
his bare hands.” Valev boasted
on national television of patrolling the Turkish border to “hunt”
migrants, and has since started a group of his own.
While
the activities of the “patrols” have sparked
controversy in Bulgaria, the authorities and government led by
centre-right political party GERB and
the Prime Minister Boyko
Borissov have
remained silent. In general, the Bulgarian media remain silent
too. News reports mention the “civil patrols” in Sofia, but
not those along the border with Turkey. One of the few reactions
to the ZDF report has been from the news website Mediapool,
which summarized
the report's content and
discussed with the development of these squads under
the headline “Russian-trained refugees hunters in Bulgaria”.
Another reaction came from the news
websiteActualno.com, which
also focused on
the training provided by Russia.
As
ZDF reported, the civil patrols are increasing in size and
continue to arm themselves with heavier weaponry. Some of their
members and leaders are also reported to be former Russian soldiers.
The
leading nationalist faction that has deployed patrols on
the border with Turkey is Voenen sayuz – BNO Shipka (“Military
union – BNO Shipka”). They maintain a Facebook
page and
a Facebook
group,
both or which currently have more than 4,000 members. In these
fora they discuss actions against refugees and migrants. On June
6, Russian
channel produced a video about
activities.
In
the ZDF video, a the patrol member says, “If the agreement
with Turkey fails, we are ready for war with the refugees.”
What this
means, exactly, is unclear, and it is also unclear whether the
authorities will respond appropriately, as so far the Bulgarian
government has failed to publicly address the issue of the civil
patrols.
BULGARIA DOES NOT WANT TO FIGHT RUSSIA IN THE BLACK SEA
17.06.2016
Bulgaria
opposed the creation of a unified NATO fleet in the Black Sea. Such
a proposal was previously made by Turkey and Romania. Bulgarian
Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said that his country does not intend
to resist anyone in the region.
Against
Russophobia
The
joint NATO fleet in the Black Sea will be directed against Russia.
It is drawing Bulgaria into the anti-Russian project, which the
country's leadership is not satisfied with. In the Orthodox Slavic
Bulgaria, strong pro-Russian sentiments still persist. Previous
anti-Russian gestures, including the refusal to participate in the
"South Stream", brought nothing to Sofia.
Forecast
The
issue of strengthening NATO's military presence in the Black Sea
will be raised at the Alliance's summit in Warsaw on 8th-9th July
2016. Most likely the US will be able to break the resistance of the
Bulgarians. Today, Bulgaria can afford to oppose this initiative, as
long as it does not come from the US, but may change its position if
so requested by Washington
BULGARIA IN MODERN GEOPOLITICS
Viktor Stoilov
Bulgaria
is a country in Southeastern Europe, located in the heart of the
Balkan peninsula, with a territory of 111 000 km2. NATO member since
2004, and EU member since 2007.
Bulgaria
is a country with a key geostrategic location. It’s the territory
between Europe and Asia. These territories have always been extremely
important, and the Great Powers have always wanted to control or
influence them. After the Second World War, Bulgaria became part of
the Warsaw Pact and was in the geopolitical sphere of the Soviet
Union, however in the 1980s the Soviet Union started its
deconstruction, and in 1989 Bulgaria was transferred to the US
geopolitical sphere with a so-called “revolution” which was
nothing but changing the owner of the country. From then democracy
kicked it. By democracy the Bulgarian post-communist elites thought
one thing – legally robbing everything which was built since the
end of WWII.
Having
all of this in mind Bulgaria is not a subject but an object of the
geopolitics. It’s even hard to say that Bulgaria is a country –
it’s a territory with colonial administration currently employed by
the US. However, as some wise people have said “the best slave is
the one that thinks he’s a free person”, the same could easily be
said for the Bulgarian population. After the “changes” in 1989,
the Bulgarian population thought they’re finally free and will
prosper. Just the opposite, Bulgaria is one of the fastest declining
countries without an open war in the country, in every possible
aspect.
The
clash between the big interests
As
mentioned, the Bulgarian lands are of big importance. In the past 26
years, the USA and Russia have been clashing for what’s going to
happen in Bulgaria. While in the 90s and early 2000s, it seemed like
both sides had agreed on the following deal – the US politically
controls the country, but Russia can still have its energy projects
in the country.
Step
by step, year by year, the USA was gaining more and more the full
control of the country. First, without even being a member of NATO,
Bulgaria allowed the USA to use its airbases to bomb neighboring
Yugoslavia.
One
of the conditions which the Bulgarian government had to sign when
joining NATO was to drastically reduce the army. This move was
designed to eliminate the chances of having any kind of sovereignty
guaranteed by a strong army. From 108,000 soldiers in 1989, Bulgaria
currently has less than 26,000. The situation with the military
equipment is even worse.
Another
political victory for the US was the condition to close two
well-working nuclear reactors of the Bulgarian nuclear plant
“Kozloduy” which limited the energy potential of the country.
The
next clashes were for the project for a second nuclear plant in
Bulgaria which the Russians wanted to build. However nobody in the
West has any interest in having this nuclear plant and after years of
debates and drama, currently the project is frozen.
But
this wasn’t the biggest clash…
The
South Stream Project
The
South Stream Project was a project to deliver gas from Russia to the
EU through Bulgaria by bypassing Ukraine which has always caused
problems for the delivery of gas. The project was going to create
thousands of workplaces in Bulgaria and the country was going to have
hundreds of millions of profit, annually.
Everything
sounds perfect if we forget who’s in charge of the country. The
Bulgarian government didn’t even take part in the negotiations for
the project. EU delegates were in charge of negotiating for the
Bulgarian side and the project was stopped.
As
a member of NATO
As
a frontline member of NATO, the Bulgarian territories have been
continuously used for all kinds of military drills. NATO currently
has 4 military bases in Bulgaria and opened a command center in the
capital Sofia.
Also,
Bulgaria has taken part in almost every military conflict led by the
US. Bulgaria has sent armed forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and
was one of the first countries to recognize Kosovo.
Current
government
The
current government is headed by Prime Minister Boiko Borisov and his
party GERB. To best describe it, Borisov and his government is the
mediator between the US interests and the Bulgarian oligarchs and
mafia. The President Rosen Plevneliev is one of biggest lackeys of
the US in the country. On the other hand is the so-called patriotic
and pro-Russian party “Ataka” with its leader Volen Siderov. If
we add all the other parties in the parliament, we’re getting a
bad-organized circus with a bitter taste of corruption coming from
everywhere.
Internal
problems
Bulgaria
has been witnessing a steady decline in every possible sphere, except
probably the corruption. More than 3 million Bulgarians left the
country in an as they call it “survival measure” due to inability
to find any career opportunity or bright future. Currently, Bulgaria
has the oldest population in the world with an average age of 43. The
educational system is literally not working and if for some reason
there are still students who are doing well, the moment they graduate
from high school they go to study and live abroad. The healthcare
system is a disaster and big groups of sick people are left without
any help. The situation is the same with everything you can think of.
We
shouldn’t belittle the ethnical problems which are being sparked by
the politicians and some external powers. Bulgaria has several groups
of minorities, but the main ones are Turks and gypsies, and another
key minority is the Muslim one. All of them have been and could be
used in the future as a pretext for an internal conflict which could
easily be sparked.
Overall,
from a top 30 country in the world in the 1980s, Bulgaria has been
turned into a barbaric territory, serving the interests of the USA,
with anything but a bright future.
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