HC Deb 26 October 1989 vol 158 c545W
Mr. Amos

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to disassociate Her Majesty's Government from the conclusions in the Council of Europe document 6106 on the departure of some ethnic Turks from Bulgaria; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Waldegrave

We agree with the authors of the document mentioned by my hon. Friend that the treatment of the ethnic Turkish minority in Bulgaria is cause for grave concern. We have long been critical of Bulgaria's poor human rights record, in particular the campaign of assimilation which has denied fundamental freedoms to the Turkish and other minorities in Bulgaria. We have repeatedly urged the Bulgarian Government to adopt more tolerant policies. I raised this with the Bulgarian ambassador in September.

Mr. Amos

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to meet his North Atlantic Treaty Organisation counterparts to consider the historical basis of the departure of some ethnic Turks from Bulgaria; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Waldegrave

We have, on many occasions, urged the Bulgarian authorities to cease their campaign of assimilation of the ethnic Turkish minority, which is the root cause of the mass departure from Bulgaria earlier this year. Many of our partners and allies share our views. We will discuss the issue with them from time to time, as long as the problem persists.

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