Serbia settles refugees in a western area populated with a Bulgarian community

Serbian authorities are planning to establish accomodations for refugees in the western territories which are known to be densely populated with Bulgarians. The Democratic Bulgarian Union expressed their concern by recurrent comments by Bosilegrad's mayor Vladimir Zahariev who suggests that refugees from the Arabic countries affected by ongoing conflicts in the area should feel welcome to come and make a home for themselves. The mayor also demands funding from the Serbian government and construction of homes on the territory of Bosilegrad where they could settle down. It is information sent to BGNES news ageny by Dragolub Ivanchov who is the chairman the DBU. It becomes clear form the memo that the Serbian minister of internal affairs Neboysa Stefanovic and the mayor of Bosilegrad had a meeting behind closed doors after a visit to a refugee center in the city. What was discussed at that meeting remains a secret as the media had no access or opportunity to pose any questions. Here is an excerpt from the declaration published by BGNES:

"There were dozens of pathetic media statements which simplified the problem. It was a plea for compassion, empathy and humanism which influenced public opinion on the matter. There is also talk wich sounds a lot like wishful thinking describing how the potential diasporas will have a prolific influence on the area such as job creation, infrastrucure improvement and overall positive effect to the economy of the area. However, establishing a big refugee center also poses concerns about the risks of criminal activity such as smuggling people through Bulgaria. All that lays the foundation for a substantial suspision that the mayor Vladimir Zahariev capably exploits the situation for his own benefit without any regard for the...