The confederation of Balkan expatriates Balgoc in Turkey supports Solomon Passy's candidacy for NATO Secretary General, the press office of the Chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee in Parliament said.

Balgoc is the largest and most prestigious NGO in the country which expresses the interests of more than 3 million Turks who have migrated from Balkan countries - Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Romania, the countries of former Yugoslavia, the press release says.

In a letter to Passy, the organization's President Turhan Gencoglu expresses support for Passy's nomination. "We have no doubt that the region, as well as all NATO members, will benefit from your work in future if you are elected," the letter says.

The organization also notes the negative public reaction by Passy against the so called Regeneration Process (the forcible change of ethnic Turks' names in Bulgaria in the 1980s).

Balgoc was set up in 1985 and its purpose is to support the adaptation of Turkish migrants from the Balkans to Turkey. It enjoys the confidence of official Ankara, the press release says. In 1998 the confederation organized the welcoming in Bursa of the then Bulgarian prime minister Ivan Kostov, who was hailed by nearly 10,000 expatriates from various Balkan countries. Balgoc also sent a letter to Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2007 in defence of the Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor.

In 2007, the UN Economic and Social Council conferred a special advisor status on the confederation of Balkan expatriates in Turkey.

In 2004 the Turkish-based Association of Journalists of Southeastern Europe named Passy Politician of Southeastern Europe. At the time, Passy was foreign minister of Bulgaria. The next year, the award was conferred on former Bulgarian president Zhelyu Zhelev.

Source: BTA; Photo: BGNES