Dokument #1108068
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
In a telephone interview on 29 March 1996,
the chair of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee in Sofia provided the
following information. The chair has not heard any reports since
1992 indicating that the authorities are mistreating those who have
applied for ownership of land that was nationalized at the end of
World War II. However, some of the land that was formerly
nationalized is owned by people who are neither the former owners
nor the descendants of the former owners. There have been instances
since 1992 in which these landowners, or people under their
control, or those who are renting the land, have committed acts of
intimidation and violence against the former owners or descendants
of former owners who are attempting to reacquire ownership of the
land. In some cases, the perpetrators of the intimidation and
violence have been apprehended and prosecuted, while in other cases
they have not been caught. The chair added that the current owners
or renters of land may pose a threat to those who are attempting to
reacquire their land.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of
additional sources consulted in researching this Information
Request.
Reference
Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, Sofia. 29
March 1996. Telephone interview with chair.
Additional Sources Consulted
DIRB country file on Bulgaria.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service
(FBIS) Reports. Daily.
News from Helsinki Watch [New York].
Monthly.
On-line search of media sources.
Other oral sources.
RFE/RL Research Reports [Munich].
Weekly.
Transition: Events and Issues in the
Former Soviet Union and East-Central and Southeastern Europe
[Prague]. Bi-monthly.
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