Ilhan Kyuchyuk: If Bulgaria does not take a leadership role in the Balkans, someone else will do it instead
April 30, 2025
Ilhan Kyuchyuk: If the European Commission fails to send a clear signal on the accession of at least one country by the end of its mandate, a historic opportunity will be lost
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MEP Ilhan Kyuchyuk from Renew Europe/ Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) opened the exhibition “Name. Identity and Memory” in the European Parliament, organized in cooperation with the Grand Mufti’s Office – Sofia. The exhibition is dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the final stage of the forced name change campaign against Bulgarian Turks and Muslims.
“This exhibition is not merely an archive or a memory. It is the voice of remembrance – of human destinies, interrupted lives, and the resistance of entire communities against the erasure of their identity. Memory is resistance against oblivion. Identity is a human right. The name – that is who we are,” said the MEP at the opening of the exhibition.
Earlier in the day, a conference was held in the European Parliament, bringing together descendants of victims and former political prisoners.
“We hate the regime, but we love our country. These words are not a slogan – they are a confession. Because we paid a high price – with human lives, with broken destinies, with silenced names. But our faith that this country can be a home for all remained,” Ilhan Kyuchyuk stated during the conference.
The event gathered key figures from European institutions, including Loránt Vincze – Chair of the European Parliament Intergroup on Traditional Minorities, National Communities and Languages; Marion Lalisse – Coordinator at the European Commission for combating anti-Muslim hatred; Melek Kırmacı – representative of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe; Halit Habip Oğlu – President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe; Vedat Ahmed – Chairman of the Supreme Muslim Council; Dr. Emine Bayraktarova – lecturer at the Higher Islamic Institute in Sofia; as well as victims of the totalitarian regime, former political prisoners, and their families.
Тази публикация е достъпна и на следните езици: Bulgarian
