Former president of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Lyutvi Mestan, was ousted from his post at an extraordinary meeting of the movement held on December 24. A day earlier, the honorary chairman of the formation Ahmed Dogan accused Lyutvi Mestan of trying to convert the movement into a "fifth column" of Turkey in Bulgaria and announced changes in the party. The extraordinary meeting coincided not only with the start of the Christmas holidays, but also with the events MRF traditionally organises to commemorate the anniversary of the so-called "Revival Process," during which the regime of communist leader Todor Zhivkov forcibly changed the names of the Bulgarian Muslim minority in this country. The reason for criticism towards Lyutvi Mestan was a declaration read in parliament a month earlier - on November 25. It showed that MRF stood on Turkish side in relation to the dispute over the downed Russian military aircraft over the border between Turkey and Syria. According to Mestan, the declaration was a collective action of the party but according to Dogan the declaration was a personal blunder of Mestan that threatened national interests and security.

The tremors in MRF seemed internal only at the beginning, but they quickly reached official authorities in Bulgaria and Turkey. In a statement Mestan said information of the State Agency for National Security that the declaration was provided to him by a foreign country was not correct. Two Bulgarian television channels reported that in a telephone conversation with his Bulgarian counterpart, the Prime Minister of Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu, had asked PM Borissov to show support for Mestan, but the request was rejected. It was also reported that because of the events, the unofficial visit of the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who was to participate in marking the anniversary of the Revival Process, was cancelled. According to Turkish sources, the visit was cancelled after intervention by the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry.

In the interest of good bilateral relations, one should hardly expect official statements on this unpleasant episode to come out, or they would be aimed at reducing tension. But the silence of authorities cannot eliminate serious questions that arose in Bulgarian society in connection with what is happening in the largest liberal formation in Bulgarian politics. How come the leader of a liberal party leader was overthrown in his absence at an extraordinary forum, initiated by the honorary chairman? What is this liberal party, in which the former president Ahmed Dogan resigned after a gun was pointed at him during a party forum, while this time deposed president Lyutvi Mestan searched for security at the Turkish Embassy in Sofia, accompanied by his wife. Eerie expressions were also often heard in comments on the case. Mestan said that his “head could be cut off” thousands of times but he would still have read the declaration. Regional MRF leader Bahri Yumer supported Mestan and said that "sticking knives in the back" remotely from Sofia was not right. Kasim Dal who was removed from the party leadership years ago did not rule out the possibility to work with Mestan in the future.

Whether supporters of ousted Mestan will create a new political formation is not clear yet. But it is definitely clear that the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, uniting ethnic Turks in Bulgaria, currently has only one true leader - Ahmed Dogan.

English: Alexander Markov