With the law against "LGBT-propaganda" not just a whole group of people from Bulgarian society was named as a target. It paves the way for the next attempts to advance the pro-Putin proxies, believes Emi Baruch.
Neither the submitted signature of over 7,000 names, nor the "deep concern" of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Council of Europe, Michael O'Flaherty, who called on President Rumen Radev not to sign the changes to the education law, banning the "propaganda of non-traditional sexual orientation", achieved some result. With the decree promulgating this law, Radev has "expressed his attitude" to the introduced changes, the presidency reports.
What does that mean?
First, it means that the Bulgarian president does not respect the rights of minorities in Bulgaria, that he is not capable of making a moral judgment about the importance of people's personal choices, that he does not understand the immoral construction of the accepted changes. It also means that all the pathos of his smug monologues about "human rights and democracy" it sounds like hypocritical logorrhea and disregard for part of the Bulgarian voters.
Secondly, it means that the fascistic pursuits of pro-Russian agents now have a tool to achieve their goals. The law, which was published today in the State Gazette, is the first. With it, not just a whole group of people from Bulgarian society was named as a target by means of an openly discriminatory legal act. It paves the way for further attempts to advance the pro-Putin proxies.
Action number 1 is a fact. Let's get ready for Action number 2.
These days, during a meeting of the committee on demographic policy and the committee on youth and sports in the parliament - both led by "Vazrazhdane", the idea was launched to take Action number 2 - for the deputies to immediately adopt a law on " "foreign agents" to limit the activities of civil organizations. At the same meeting, proposals were also heard to bring charges against "America for Bulgaria". and similar external financings that "have direct influence with foreign interests".
Ironically, the first legislation on "foreign agents" was created in the United States itself (FARA) in 1938 as a legislative response to increasing propaganda by foreign agents.
86 years have passed since then, and McCarthyism is part of another era.
In modern times, the fiercest hostility to NGOs - defined unambiguously as "foreign agents" - comes from Russia.
In 2012, Russia created a law requiring NGOs to register as "foreign agents" in the Ministry of Justice, if they perform any "political activity" and receive foreign funding. According to the Kremlin, a "foreign agent" can only be interpreted as "spy" or "traitor".
In 2014, Russia's Constitutional Court upheld the law, ruling that there were no legal or constitutional grounds to claim that the term "foreign agent" has negative connotations from the Soviet era.
And because both the law published today and the specter of "foreign agents" are imported from a checked menu, let's recall what follows:
Adoption of a Law on "undesirable organizations" (2015), supplementing the Law on "undesirable organizations" with the Law on "Foreign Agents" (2023), until it comes to declaring the LGBT movement an "extremist organization".
And participation or financing of an extremist organization is punishable by up to 12 years in prison.
From here to the burning of books, the steps are not many
This "legal stylistics" was repeated one to one in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Uzbekistan. Hungary and China are in the same company.
Bulgaria is going that way, despite having signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The law promulgated today is Action number 1. It is a prelude to the next attempts of the fascist hyenas in Bulgarian politics, which destroy the fragile network of normality in society. If it comes to Action number 2, it will affect hundreds of organizations in Bulgaria and block funding for millions.
From here to the burning of books, the steps are not many.
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This comment expresses the personal opinion of the author and may not coincide with the positions of the Bulgarian editorial office and DV as a whole.