Ambassadors in Bulgaria: Hate speech has no place in our societies

The ambassadors of the United States, Albania, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Israel, Japan and the United Kingdom join their EU counterparts in condemning the threats of violence against the Council of Ministers and the US ambassador by a Bulgarian MP.

This is stated in a joint statement of the diplomatic representatives sent to the media.

"Such threats cannot be justified and we stand together in the clear conviction that hate speech has no place in our societies," the ambassadors' joint statement said on March 29.

On March 18, MP Elena Guncheva of “Vazrazhdane” group (the smallest party in Parliament) made a post on social networks saying that if Bulgaria sent missiles to Ukraine, Russia’s “high-precision” weapons could hit the Council of Ministers building. Guncheva added that she could send the location (“co-ordinates”) of Mustafa to the Russians.

Yesterday, a post appeared on the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria's Facebook page on behalf of the parliament's speaker, Nikola Minchev, condemning Elena Guncheva's behaviour.

"The Speaker of the National Assembly Nikola Minchev would like to state the following. The call to violence cannot be justified by anything. All MPs owe respect to senior government officials as well as diplomats according to Article 29 of the Vienna Convention," the post reads.

Today, March 29, the French embassy in Bulgaria circulated a joint statement of the ambassadors of the EU countries in Bulgaria:

"We, the ambassadors of the EU member states, welcome the statement of Mr. Nikola Minchev, Speaker of the National Assembly, condemning the threats of violence against the Council of Ministers and accredited ambassadors. Such threats are inexcusable and we are united in our conviction that hate speech has no place in our societies."