Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov. Photo by BGNES
The recent gas pistol attack against Bulgarian ethnic Turkish leader Ahmed Dogan will not disrupt the country's ethnic peace, according to Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov.
"I strongly condemn the unpleasant incident during the Movement for Rights and Freedoms congress on Saturday. It was a shock to everyone and such actions will not be tolerated in Bulgaria," Mladenov has said at a meeting with ambassadors of EU member states.
The Foreign Minister expressed his hope that the incident would not have an effect on the traditionally good ethnic relations in Bulgaria.
"I call on all political leaders to refrain from public comments that might provoke tensions in society," he said.
"I want to assure you that the Government is taking this incident very seriously and the relevant authorities will carry out a thorough investigation and the perpetrator will be punished to the full extent of the law.
Ahmed Dogan, founder and leader of the ethnic Turkish DPS party ("Movement for Rights and Freedoms"), was the target of a gas pistol attack right on the floor of a party conference on Saturday by 25-year-old Oktay Enimehmedov, also a Bulgarian citizen from ethnic Turkish origin. No shots were fired.
Enimehmedov reiterated on Tuesday that he did not want to kill Dogan, but to scare him. Authorities have revealed that the gas pistol that was used in the attack was not capable of putting a life in jeopardy.