Bulgaria expulsion 'black spot' for EU

Hamas leader and Legislative Council member Salah Bardawil has said that Bulgaria "contradicted itself and denied Palestinian people's right to self-determination" by expelling a Hamas delegation from the country. Bardawil, who was one of the delegates, said the act "represents a black spot in the history of the European Union." Speaking to reporters Saturday morning at the Rafah border crossing, Bardawil said: "What happened was, the delegation received an invitation from the Centre for International and Middle East Studies in Sofia to visit Bulgaria and attend meetings." "We went to the Bulgarian embassy in Cairo, were approved with minutes and flew there the same day. On the first day, we met with Bulgarian parliamentarians, a number of media outlets and students at Sofia University. On the second day, we were taken aback by the amount of media and independent pressure exerted on the organisers of the meetings, urging that they stop immediately. The matter reached security authorities, i.e. the intelligence services, and the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is headed by a Zionist." "We learned that there were contacts between Ramallah's minister and the Bulgarian to ask about the nature of the delegation's visit. They claim that the ban was affected on the basis of this communication," he said, claiming this was done "to deepen the schism between Palestinians." According to Bardawil, the delegation began its visit with a meeting with Palestinian ambassador Dr Ahmed al-Madhbouh and the delegates were met with no problems. He added: "When we saw the pressures, we cut the visit short and were about to leave for Turkey, but Bulgarian security stormed our rooms and ordered us to leave immediately." The Hamas lawmaker held the Bulgarian government responsible for the expulsion, saying it "disregarded legitimate lawmakers' immunity in a non-partisan manner" and stressing that the deportation "breached all diplomatic laws and conventions" because they targeted parliamentarians who had entered the country legally. "None of the excuses that were later given matters. We believe that lawmakers represent public will, and our belonging to Hamas is neither here nor there, all parties must take a clear stance towards what happened," he said. Bardawil said there are "contradictions" between "practical actions taken by the European Union on the ground" and "practical actions regarding democracy," describing these "contradictions" as "forms of political hypocrisy and double standards." "Such actions that display submission to the Zionists harm the image of the European Union and the West," he said, demanding an apology "to the Palestinian people." "We do not accept excuses that we are dealing with legitimacy or lack therefore and insist that what took place is unacceptable and that we have the right to take action against it." Bulgarian security forces Friday morning stormed the Hamas lawmakers' accommodations in the capital Sofia. They were deported to Turkey.