The Bulgarian state will demand compensations from Turkey for Bulgarians who fled Eastern Thrace (European Turkey) amidst repressions in the 1910s and 1920s, the Bulgarian MPs voted on Friday. Only the MPs from the MRF expressed some concerns on this issue as they explained they were not against the demand for compensations but they did support the fact that the idea had been pushed forward by the nationalistic party Ataka instead of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry.
About 800,000 Bulgarians are heirs of the Bulgarians once living in Eastern Thrace who were forced to leave their homes in 1913 due to the ethnic cleansing conducted by the Ottoman Empire, Ataka members explained. The sum includes not only private real estates but also ezarchic and church terrains and buildings and cultural monuments.
This is the first act when the Bulgarian parliament requires compensations from Turkey for the once expelled Bulgarians. The document was adopted at its 11th attempt as it was rejected 10 times during the previous National Assembly.
Teodora Yolcheva
via Bulgaria – Bulgaria Demands Compensations Worth US$ 10 B from Turkey – Standart.