IMRO – Bulgarian National Movement
Encyclopedia
The IMRO – Bulgarian National Movement is a nationalist political party
in Bulgaria
. The abbreviation IMRO references the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, a historic Bulgarian
-established revolutionary political organization in the Macedonia
and Thrace
regions. IMRO – BNM's current leader is Krasimir Karakachanov. Among the party's leading representatives is also Slavcho Atanasov
, who was mayor of Bulgaria's second largest city, Plovdiv
.
The organization has made the news in recent years for its violent attacks on the Jehovah's Witnesses religious organization. The last episode of mob violence against Jehovah's Witnesses by this group took place in April 17, 2011, when a crowd of BMPO flag carrying men, covered with hooded tshirts and bearing stones sieged the place of worship where a group of Jehovah's Witnesses in the town of Burgas were meeting for the annual memorial of the death of Christ, attacked them with at least one Molotov bomb and injured at least five of the people gathered inside. All of it was recorded by the cameras of a local television channel. The police came to disperse the crowd and protect the injured Witnesses on their way to the ambulance. The nationalist movement recruited supporters of the Chernomorets and Neftohimik football teams and others , in order to carry out the violent attack on the gathered men, women and children.
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. The abbreviation IMRO references the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, a historic Bulgarian
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
-established revolutionary political organization in the Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
and Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
regions. IMRO – BNM's current leader is Krasimir Karakachanov. Among the party's leading representatives is also Slavcho Atanasov
Slavcho Atanasov
Slavcho Atanasov is a Bulgarian politician, member of IMRO-BNM and mayor of Plovdiv .He was born on 14 February 1968 in Karlovo. In 2003 he was elected a mayor of Plovdiv's largest district Trakiya....
, who was mayor of Bulgaria's second largest city, Plovdiv
Plovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
.
The organization has made the news in recent years for its violent attacks on the Jehovah's Witnesses religious organization. The last episode of mob violence against Jehovah's Witnesses by this group took place in April 17, 2011, when a crowd of BMPO flag carrying men, covered with hooded tshirts and bearing stones sieged the place of worship where a group of Jehovah's Witnesses in the town of Burgas were meeting for the annual memorial of the death of Christ, attacked them with at least one Molotov bomb and injured at least five of the people gathered inside. All of it was recorded by the cameras of a local television channel. The police came to disperse the crowd and protect the injured Witnesses on their way to the ambulance. The nationalist movement recruited supporters of the Chernomorets and Neftohimik football teams and others , in order to carry out the violent attack on the gathered men, women and children.