Djaved Nouri, Who Set Himself On Fire
1
OBEKTIV 11 OBEKTIV 11 3 To those who would say that it is inaccurate to call the hatred towards Turks, Roma, and Jews “xenophobia,” because they are not foreigners, I would reply that the attitude of a significant part of the population towards them resembles the attitude to unde- sirable foreigners, and this justifies the use of the term. See “The Data Show: Our Society is Ill With Racism,” Emil Cohen,“Obektiv” magazine, Issue 122. racist and xenophobic 3 attitudes in this country, and “Attack” and Siderov have found a language for their public expression. To dissociate the “protest” from the way of speaking and thinking is simply futile; they are interwoven. Second, the political class has done next to nothing to explain, with all the authority and power not only of common morality, but also of the state, that racism is categorically unacceptable in a society that sees itself as democratic. Most people would be shocked, and would reconsider their behavior, if our government insti- tutions were to forcefully - but not forcibly - call a halt to racist ways of thinking and speaking. Instead of engag- ing in banal attempts to disgrace Siderov, the govern- ment and politicians should be clearly, repeatedly, and consistently convincing the public that there is no place in our society for outright racism and xenophobia. Georgi TOSHEV, attorney javed Nouri is a citizen of Afghanistan, whose application procedure for protection under the special rules of the Asylum and Refugees Act has come to an end. Nouri is an example of a foreigner who has successfully integrated into the Bulgarian society. In the short time that he has spent in Bulgaria, and while his case was being processed by the State Refugee Agency with the Council of Ministers, he actively stud- ied Bulgarian at the Agency’s integration center. He thus managed to attain a working knowledge of Bul- garian surprisingly quickly. This gave him the ability to assist his fellow countrymen seeking asylum in Bulgaria, translating for them and taking them to the appropri- ate institutions. Thanks to his personal qualities, he is able to befriend people and quickly win their respect. He is not afraid to speak his mind, and he has often spoken in defense of other asylum-seekers. Djaved Nouri is an exceptionally artistic individual. He sings, paints, and is a self-taught promoter of authentic Afghan culture in Bulgaria. He has also appeared on a number of television shows, as well as at many official events organized by the refugee community in Bulgaria. Despite all of the facts mentioned above, on 6 De- cember 2005, Order No. 3-512 was issued against Djaved Nouri by the Interior Ministry’s National Security Service, ordering the compulsory administrative measure of “ex- pulsion” in accordance with Art. 10, Para. 1.1 of the For- eigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act (FRBA). That or- der was appealed by a lawyer from the BHC’s Refugees and Migrants Legal Protection Program. In the order cited, the proper authorities did not indicate the specific grounds for imposing the compulsory administrative measure of “expulsion” with regard to Mr. Nouri. As grounds for issuing the order, the administrative author- ity perfunctorily cited Art. 42 of the FRBA, without speci- fying which particular provision was applicable in the present case: under the first one, Nouri’s presence in DJAVED NOURI Who Set Himself On Fire the country would pose a serious threat to national se- curity, while in the second, it would pose a threat to pub- lic order. This means that the order’s lack of identifica- tion of a specific legal provision prescribing the mea- sure, renders the action being appealed UNLAWFUL, and leads to a serious infringement of Djaved Nouri’s right to legal defense. Thus, in order to enforce the ordered compulsory administrative measure, Djaved Nouri was held in com- pulsory detention in the HTAA (Home for Temporary Accommodation of Adults) for a period of three months, and subsequently in the SHTAF (Special Home for Tem- porary Accommodation of Foreigners), where he has already spent 11 (eleven) months without interruption. Throughout this time, his right to freedom of movement has been restricted, while at the same time the compe- tent authorities, represented by the Interior Ministry’s Migration Directorate, General Police Directorate and National Police Service, have not taken any steps to- wards his deportation from the country. In accordance with the provisions of the law, the measure of “compul- sory detention” is an exception to the general rule, the argument of Art. 44, Para. 6 of the FRBA. In this sense, the Director of the Migration Directorate should have presented his reasoning in detail, in order to justify the preferability of taking that special measure instead of the general one; namely, that of “compulsory deten- tion” rather than “police probation/supervision”. Despite the involvement of the BHC Refugee Office, Djaved Nouri continues to be held in the SHTAF. Admin- istrative proceedings have been initiated in response to the complaints filed with the court, and the scheduling of court hearings is being expected. The appropriate officials should provide the Bulgar- ian court with an answer as to how a person who was seeking asylum in our country has become “a threat to national security” and by which of his actions he has managed to become “a threat to public order”; mean- while, for Djaved Nouri and the other people in his situa- tion, remains the hope that the Bulgarian court will judge impartially. D
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Publication of the journal Obektiv, number 138 of 2007 author Georgi Toshev
Transcript of Djaved Nouri, Who Set Himself On Fire
OBEKTIV 11OBEKTIV 11
3 To those who would say that it is inaccurate to call the hatredtowards Turks, Roma, and Jews “xenophobia,” because they arenot foreigners, I would reply that the attitude of a significant partof the population towards them resembles the attitude to unde-sirable foreigners, and this justifies the use of the term. See “TheData Show: Our Society is Ill With Racism,” Emil Cohen,“Obektiv”magazine, Issue 122.
racist and xenophobic3 attitudes in this country, and“Attack” and Siderov have found a language for theirpublic expression. To dissociate the “protest” from theway of speaking and thinking is simply futile; they areinterwoven.
Second, the political class has done next to nothingto explain, with all the authority and power not only ofcommon morality, but also of the state, that racism iscategorically unacceptable in a society that sees itselfas democratic. Most people would be shocked, andwould reconsider their behavior, if our government insti-tutions were to forcefully - but not forcibly - call a halt toracist ways of thinking and speaking. Instead of engag-ing in banal attempts to disgrace Siderov, the govern-ment and politicians should be clearly, repeatedly, andconsistently convincing the public that there is no placein our society for outright racism and xenophobia.
Georgi TOSHEV,attorney
javed Nouri is a citizen of Afghanistan, whoseapplication procedure for protection under the
special rules of the Asylum and Refugees Act has cometo an end. Nouri is an example of a foreigner who hassuccessfully integrated into the Bulgarian society. Inthe short time that he has spent in Bulgaria, and whilehis case was being processed by the State RefugeeAgency with the Council of Ministers, he actively stud-ied Bulgarian at the Agency’s integration center. Hethus managed to attain a working knowledge of Bul-garian surprisingly quickly. This gave him the ability toassist his fellow countrymen seeking asylum in Bulgaria,translating for them and taking them to the appropri-ate institutions.
Thanks to his personal qualities, he is able to befriendpeople and quickly win their respect. He is not afraid tospeak his mind, and he has often spoken in defense ofother asylum-seekers. Djaved Nouri is an exceptionallyartistic individual. He sings, paints, and is a self-taughtpromoter of authentic Afghan culture in Bulgaria. Hehas also appeared on a number of television shows, aswell as at many official events organized by the refugeecommunity in Bulgaria.
Despite all of the facts mentioned above, on 6 De-cember 2005, Order No. 3-512 was issued against DjavedNouri by the Interior Ministry’s National Security Service,ordering the compulsory administrative measure of “ex-pulsion” in accordance with Art. 10, Para. 1.1 of the For-eigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act (FRBA). That or-der was appealed by a lawyer from the BHC’s Refugeesand Migrants Legal Protection Program. In the ordercited, the proper authorities did not indicate the specificgrounds for imposing the compulsory administrativemeasure of “expulsion” with regard to Mr. Nouri. Asgrounds for issuing the order, the administrative author-ity perfunctorily cited Art. 42 of the FRBA, without speci-fying which particular provision was applicable in thepresent case: under the first one, Nouri’s presence in
DJAVED NOURIWho Set Himself On Fire
the country would pose a serious threat to national se-curity, while in the second, it would pose a threat to pub-lic order. This means that the order’s lack of identifica-tion of a specific legal provision prescribing the mea-sure, renders the action being appealed UNLAWFUL, andleads to a serious infringement of Djaved Nouri’s right tolegal defense.
Thus, in order to enforce the ordered compulsoryadministrative measure, Djaved Nouri was held in com-pulsory detention in the HTAA (Home for TemporaryAccommodation of Adults) for a period of three months,and subsequently in the SHTAF (Special Home for Tem-porary Accommodation of Foreigners), where he hasalready spent 11 (eleven) months without interruption.Throughout this time, his right to freedom of movementhas been restricted, while at the same time the compe-tent authorities, represented by the Interior Ministry’sMigration Directorate, General Police Directorate andNational Police Service, have not taken any steps to-wards his deportation from the country. In accordancewith the provisions of the law, the measure of “compul-sory detention” is an exception to the general rule, theargument of Art. 44, Para. 6 of the FRBA. In this sense,the Director of the Migration Directorate should havepresented his reasoning in detail, in order to justify thepreferability of taking that special measure instead ofthe general one; namely, that of “compulsory deten-tion” rather than “police probation/supervision”.
Despite the involvement of the BHC Refugee Office,Djaved Nouri continues to be held in the SHTAF. Admin-istrative proceedings have been initiated in response tothe complaints filed with the court, and the schedulingof court hearings is being expected.
The appropriate officials should provide the Bulgar-ian court with an answer as to how a person who wasseeking asylum in our country has become “a threat tonational security” and by which of his actions he hasmanaged to become “a threat to public order”; mean-while, for Djaved Nouri and the other people in his situa-tion, remains the hope that the Bulgarian court will judgeimpartially.
D
