A new party named "Muslim Democratic Union" was founded Saturday in the village of Slavyanovo.

The village is located in northern Bulgaria, near the town of Popovo, an area largely populated by ethnic Turks.

The founders of the "Muslim Democratic Union" are the notorious brothers Ali Yuzeirov and Yuzeir Yuzeirov. The party was found by 680 written declarations while Ali Yuzeirov was elected party Chair.

Yuzeir Yuzeirov, organizer of the event, declared everyone can become member of the new political organization as long as they adhere to the ethical Muslim norms. He denied the Union is another ethnic party in Bulgaria, but stressed on the fact the country now has eight Christian parties.

The party leadership gave a press conference after the founding meeting and stated the new political formation would fight for the rights of all Bulgarian citizens and would be, eventually, open for members, who are not Muslims.

The founders declined to answer questions if their party was an alternative of the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) of Ahmed Dogan, but Yuzeir Yuzeirov pointed out he and Dogan were "very good friends and maintained an excellent relationship."

A greeting card signed by Dogan, congratulating local Muslims with the Ramazan Bayrami Holiday was on display at the club during the press conference.

On Sunday Yuzeir Yuzeirov told the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) that the current Constitution needed amendments and declared that in just one day the party collected 2 800 signatures. 5 000 are needed in order to official register the new formation.

Yuzeirov has been involved in a storm of controversy. He is the founder of the "Club for Friendship and Brotherhood" in Slavyanovo, and founder and leader of the "Bulgarian Red Crescent," an organization the Bulgarian Red Cross says is illegal according to the Geneva Convention.

The Red Cross says the existence of the Crescent in Bulgaria is a precedent because a country can only have either a Red Cross or a Red Crescent, never both.
The Red Crescent headquarters are in Slavyanovo as well. The building housing it and the Club has a cross and a crescent painted on its walls.

Another controversy involves the monument of the "Unknown Turkish Soldier," also located in Slavyanovo and financed by Yuzeirov. The Regional Directorate for Construction Control has declared the monument illegal and ordered its dismantling.

Yuzeirov is a native from Slavyanovo, but has international business for the trade of chicken meat and spends most of his time in Belgium. He says the party will be financed by funds from businesses of its members.

The first angry reactions in Bulgaria followed Sunday.

The leader of the Order, Law and Justice (RZS) party, Yane Yanev, a strong opponent of Dogan, told BNR the founding of the new party was a stark violation of the Constitution.

Yanev, who is also the Chair of the Anti-Corruption Parliamentary Committee, said "these people overstepped all boundaries by demanding a new Constitution," and declared he was going to notify the State Agency for National Security (DANS). Yanev claims the new party is financed with money from abroad.

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