PART TWO - SPECTACULAR COLLAPSE OF MITA
When on the evening of July 10, 2024 Dogan wrote a "bloody" letter, demanding the resignation of Peevski as party chairman and five other close high-ranking party officials and MPs, with the accusation that there is an attempt for an internal party coup within MRF, in order to use party power for personal and group interests, and especially to change the party's political profile, the first reaction of many was that Peevski's days in politics are numbered. After Peevski's lightning-fast response, "I will not give up, I am not a traitor!", the assessment immediately became - this is a war in MRF. Politicians and especially commentators on TV studios began eagerly making bets on who would win.
It was felt that a titanic clash was about to take place. At this moment, I may have been the only one convinced that Peevski would win. We even argued with Prof. Dimitar Ivanov, who bet on Dogan - after all, the Philosopher was a "their" project - from State Security and the former head of Sixth could not admit that they could "trick" their agent.
"Before the appearance of the Phenomenon, it was unthinkable for someone to dare challenge Sokol with the claim that he couldn't be stopped," wrote Edwin Sugarev.
I knew the processes from the inside - I knew that in order for the myth to live on, it had to be maintained - in every aspect. This is what Peevski did. At the moment of his withdrawal, it was only a matter of time for the entire system around Dogan to collapse like dominoes. Even Dogan himself did not realize this, because he was so engrossed in his own myth that he considered it a given that belonged to him until the end of his life. And yet I expected, I was even convinced that Dogan would show leadership in such an extreme moment. After all, in the communist state security they had prepared him precisely for such trials. And in my consciousness, the result of long observations, Dogan was the ultimate political leader.
Here I was wrong.
THE ACTUAL SPLIT
After the vote for the "Zheliazkov 1" cabinet, the Movement's parliamentary group split into "MRF- Chakarov (Dogan)" and "MRF-Peevski" in a ratio of 25:22, dropping from the prestigious second place in the 50th National Assembly to the unenviable fourth. The 25 deputies of Dogan became independent, losing all the powers of a parliamentary party. The two groups stood against each other, taking diametrically opposed positions towards the caretaker government, President Radev, the Minister of Interior, etc. Dogan decided to act preemptively and used his maximum leverage. With a wave of subscriptions, the majority of regional structures in the country declared their support for the honorary chairman. A common hysteria was created for a united "Dogan" front, but structures in Varna, Targovishte, Haskovo, Plovdiv, Vidin, and Rousse did not submit to it. Then the neutral position of the mayor of Kardzhali caught attention, whom Dogan personally chose, removing Hasan Aziz.
In the party, the mood calmed down - the "traitors" pointed out by Dogan to be soon excluded, posters with the words "MRF without Peevski" appeared on the offices of the Movement throughout the country. Everyone started intensively reading the Constitution, to understand when exactly and by whom Peevski will be expelled from their ranks. In the Constitution it is written in black and white that the leader of the MRF can only be excluded by the structure that elected him - i.e. the National Conference. However, in order for the conference to be convened, there must first be a meeting of the Central Council, which must be called by the Central Coordinating Bureau.
And here, Dogan hit a snag!
FIRST RED FLAG. DOGAN FAILED TO CONVENE THE CENTRAL COUNCIL
Despite the created euphoria and the absolute belief that Dogan controls the party, on August 20, 2024, he failed to convene a legitimate Central Coordinating Bureau - out of the 24 members, personally selected by him, only 14 responded to his invitation, and the absence of two deprived the meeting of a quorum. Constitutionally, this was like the first red signal and confrontation with reality - does the entire party really belong to Dogan? The convening of the Central Council should not have been a problem, if the other co-chairman Dzhevdet Chakarov and his deputies had done their organizational work. Apparently, they did not have the necessary authority, energy, and experience to help Dogan and provide him with public legitimacy that he is unshakable. They did not come up with any authentic political message. On the contrary - they were benefiting from the aura of Dogan (who at this moment is still unshakable), but they did not contribute with their own image and political resources to his battle with Peevski. Thus, the question of convening the Central Council remains hanging, already casting a shadow over the "myth" - what kind of leader is a person who cannot even convene his operative body? The "Chakarov-Atalay" group had a numerical advantage, but it was not enough to exclude Peevski, as they intended.
Apparently, in his 19 years in the Movement, Peevski had created more connections, influence, and respect than those close to Dogan today.
During the hot days of August, Dogan opened his summer shed and started calling mayors and municipal leaders. He personally called them and told them he needed their support.
And once again, he stumbled upon a rock.
Out of the 40 mayors of the MRF, only 10 showed up for a meeting with the honorary chairman in "Rosenets". This was a serious blow. How could you not attend a meeting with the honorary chairman! This was unthinkable until this moment. But the situation had already changed. Dogan was used to having people shine his image and Peevski was solving the country's problems in parliament, fighting for money for municipalities and for the people. Peevski took action, while Dogan only wrote statements against the Boy. However, many quickly realized which way the wind was blowing and adapted. Mayors are a strong factor for the MRF, and Peevski managed to secure budget financing for projects worth 400 million leva, something no other party leader has done before.
Peevski feverishly rallied around him, while on the other side, Dogan seemed alone - he had driven away so many conscientious people in the past years and caused so much offense that he had no strong personalities to rely on at that moment. The group of Chakarov-Atalay-Ibryamov-Kyuchuk remains, which had strong business dependencies, and the people in the structures did not like them. Between the two wings, a real battle erupted in which there was no forgiveness. In society, the term "thugs" was used for the leading figures of the "Dogan" group.
CPC SENDS THE WOLF TO ARREST, DOGAN - WITH 30 MILLION CREDIT FROM BBR
Dogan did not make any public statements. He did not give any interviews. He did not go down to the people. The shed was a symbol of his power from above. He didn't even allow the thought that the days of this government are numbered.
While he was mingling with selected young people, talking about trivial things, how they are the future and if they were well-prepared, he relied on them to get MRF out of the crisis. The Commission for Combating Corruption (CCC) erupted - spectacularly hitting the businessman Rumen Gaytanski-Vulka, who is close to Dogan. Unexpectedly, he sent him to jail for a loan of 150 million leva that was disbursed five years ago and has remained unpaid until today. From BBR, with the surprising additional fact - 30 million of them were redirected to pay off the debts of TEC "Varna" AD, whose majority owner at the time was the honorary chairman of MRF.
For the first time, Peevski, who until then had not allowed himself to attack the honorary chairman, publicly accused Dogan of "stealing" these funds from BBR.
This was the first sign that the war would be uncompromising and that in it, the sacrifice would not only be the myth of "Dogan" but also Dogan himself. A second sign was given - photos leaked from the summer "shed" of "Rosenec" with the impression - millions, luxury, a palace... as evidence of a disconnect between words and actions. And as a prelude to the question - who paid for this luxury?
THE STATE MACHINE IS GOBBLING UP DOGAN
The state machine gobbles up Dogan. He still did not realize it. As noted by "Capital" in their analysis, "Peevski personally demonstrates political and institutional power and strength at all levels."
In this battle of life and death, none of the former leaders of the MRF extended a hand to Dogan. On the contrary! Gyuner Tahiri, Kasim Dal, Osman Okhtay and Korman Ismailov poured out with intoxicating interviews on all media outlets - "Radio Free Europe, BNR, BNT, BTV, Factor.bg", and additionally tarnished the image of the [figure of honor, pulling out well-known and unknown unfavorable facts from his personal and political life. Everything was reminded to him - both his secret service past, his betrayal towards Turks during the so-called Revival process, and his parties and lavish lifestyle. And most importantly - replacing the cause with lies and deceit. No one highlighted his contribution to the establishment of the democratic process in our country. No one remembered the peaceful ethnic model and its architect. No one!
During this time, Peevski was in the midst of it all. He closely followed the actions of the group around Dogan and always stayed a few moves ahead. However, the party was shaken by hysteria - "whose side are you on" and "if you're not with me, you're my enemy." On one side, sentiment towards the founder, turned into a myth, was strong, while on the other side, a divide began to be seen along the lines of "MRF for the poor" and "MRF for the rich." There was a sense that the group around Dogan was more concerned about securing their own future during the upcoming turbulent period, rather than upholding their honorable goals. There was also a parallel battle - who Dogan will point out as future leader. Chakarov didn't show any leadership qualities, while between Kyuchyuk and Ibryamov there was a fierce competition for Dogan's heart. However, nobody had the reach and power of Peevski.
THE REACH OF PEEVSKI
Peevski wanted to position the MRF on a new path. Dogan's accusation towards Peevski for "changing the political profile of the party" was based on the choice - for the MRF to either stay true to its authentic realities or respond to the new realities. Peevski had (and continues to have) the ambition to position the MRF as an independent political player with its own weight and had set the goal for the Movement to become the second political force. To everyone's surprise, the goal was achieved. Without DPS, nothing was happening in parliament, and Peevski himself became a conductor of politics in our country. However, Dogan preferred MRF to stay on the traditional path of an ethnic party - MRF as a balancer between the big players, reaching out a hand to one or the other, depending on the current interests. Peevski's appearance was an expression of the desire to do something new, pragmatic, in line with the new realities. Peevski wanted to impose it very quickly, persistently and uncompromisingly. In his own way. And naturally, he rejected the role of being subordinate to Dogan. Unlike everyone else, Peevski behaved as an equal to Dogan. This is why Peevski refused to be ordered "from above with one phone or one fax", he refused to comply with orders for "eliminating groups of people, structures and individuals". Which nobody had allowed themselves so far.
TIME WORKED FOR THE PHENOMENON
The truth is that after Dogan's withdrawal from active politics in 2013, Peevski became his de facto continuation in the DPS and the result of this longtime work we see at the moment in politics. Peevski showed qualities of a forward-looking politician, a moderator of public processes, a tactician, for whom emotions are in the background when a goal needs to be achieved. Adding to all of this is his super energy, pragmatism, deadly workaholism, ambition, and pursuit of absolute success in every venture - we see that The Phenomenon has surpassed The Philosopher. And when Dogan called him "phenomenon", he meant exactly these qualities, which elevated him to the position of chairman of the party. And it was precisely these qualities that proved decisive in his battle for MRF.
July and August of 2024 were the last months of Ahmed Dogan's organized life that he had lived years before. He and his small group were thinking about how to oust The Boy, how MRF would stabilize and continue on the path set 35 years ago. They never imagined that Dogan would have to calculate a series of losses... until he lost everything.
Then, in the midst of summer, I wrote: "Dogan is about to witness the result of this war - the downfall of a well-established system, built with knowledge, experience and passion, led by a great cause. A cause that no one talks about anymore. It simply flew away. And he won't be able to do anything about it. Whatever happens, MRF will not be the same. It may splinter, it may survive, but it will no longer be the same. The party body will not be intact. Because this war will go through the hearts of a huge part of the Bulgarian Turks. And the big, strategic question is, what will happen to them."
All of this happened.
DOGAN EXPELLED FROM THE SARAY, PEEVSKI WINS ALL BATTLES FOR MRF.
In the confrontation between "Dogan-Peevski," the role of the honorary chairman's absolute authority must be explicitly emphasized, which he had within the community. In this conflict between two strong personalities - each with their own sources of power, Dogan relied on the sense of community to work - MRF is their party, and he is their leader. The complexity of the situation came from the fact that for the first time someone challenged his previously unquestionable authority. Neither Tahiri, nor Dal, nor Mestan, and even less Karadayu caused any damage to Dogan's image as a living god in the community. Peevski, however, is a different case. He is a factor with his own aura. In the last 19 years, it was by Dogan's will that he and Peevski were the two sides of the "MRF" coin. In 10 of those years, Dogan abdicated from the operational decision-making in the party, transferring part of his authority onto Peevski. "In addition, Peevski added the strength of his own "I".
"On August 27th, at one of the meetings that Dogan called COB, without specifying if there was a quorum, the Honorary continued the war that had begun, and excluded Delian Peevski and his supporters from the MRF, loudly announcing that this decision was expected from all of Bulgaria."
"In response, Peevski stated that this was an unconstitutional action and thus the war for leadership in the Movement transferred to the court. (It ended on May 27th, when the Supreme Court recognized Peevski as the sole chairman of MRF.) But at that moment, Dogan was living under the illusion of the power of his political significance." Next to him were Dzhevdet Chakarov, Dzheihan Ibrahimov, and Ilhan Kyuchuk. They did not know what was coming.
On August 30, the honorary chairman of the MRF, Ahmed Dogan, was publicly expelled from his beloved barn in the seaside park of "Rosenetz" and from the barn in the "Boiana" neighborhood of Sofia, where he had been living in recent years. The expulsion happened through a press release sent by former Transport Minister Danail Papazov, who until recently had been one of the closest people to Dogan, and in this case was speaking as the owner of the properties. With an ultimatum, Papazov shed light on the public that "Ahmed Dogan is not the owner or representative of these companies, he has no connection to the properties of these companies, and he has no contractual relationships related to the use of these properties." "As a result of this, Ahmed Dogan is staying without any grounds in the same place and should immediately leave it," the shock was stunning. Dogan was left without a roof and without heating...
The group around him organized protests in defense of the barracks. Ilhan Kyuchyuk even declared a march for democracy. But... after some commotion, a minor clash with the police, everything fell silent. Supporters of Dogan wanted to see him, even if just catch a glimpse, to give them courage.
But the day after Papazov's letter, instead of standing in front of his sympathizers and leading them into battle to defend the party, Dogan fled from the barracks to "Rosenets," hidden in the backseat of Ramadan Atalay's car.
I admit that the image of this sight shocked me - the "mighty" Dogan running like a mouse. That's when I said to "Aktualno": "The MRF pyramid is falling. "If Dogan does not come out now and consolidate the ethnic vote, MRF is finished"
Dogan did not come out. And as we see today, with his MRF, it is already finished.
FROM "INCORPORATED BUSINESSMAN" TO "UNABLE TO LEAD HIS PARTY"
The legal sagas around the political representation of MRF continue. Dogan's group was losing one legal battle after another. No political force came out to support Dogan. No political leader stood by him. No one rushed to defend his rights (civil and political).
On the contrary!
Valeri Nikolov called him "incompetent businessman", Kalina Androlova - "degraded to the point of being unable to lead the party", Hristo Kirchev advises him to step down from the top of MRF as soon as possible to save himself from disappointment and betrayal... A tide of "anti-Dogan" literally blew up. The general assessment was that Dogan is not the same Dogan we knew 10-15 years ago. The collapse of the management pyramid was a spectacle. Dogan was already beyond redemption.
And yet, there was a chance. To step forward as a leader. To go out on the field during the September-October campaign, to raid the structures, to speak, to defend his personal right as a democrat and lead his party. He was obliged to do so, for the sake of those who defended him.
He did not do it. He stood on a table and pounded his chest, claiming to be above the law and above the constitution.
And he continued to lose. His brand. The elections.Half of the party.
SECOND EMBARRASSING EXPULSION OF DOGAN FROM THE SARAYS
On April 12, 2025, Ahmed Dogan, along with deputies and activists, surprisingly stormed the "sarays" in the Boyana district of the capital, claiming they wanted to hold a meeting after realizing the property was unlocked. This was followed by a new clash with the police and a humiliating midnight eviction of Dogan from the saray.
The battle scenes from the youth's struggle to protect their leader in the saray were a reflection of what had happened to this party, which had reached its logical end - the cause had dwindled to taking over a building as a symbol of the leader's greatness. There was no talk of politics whatsoever. Neither of rights, nor of freedoms! Elementary barbarism." It was pitiful and sad to watch the helpless Dogan, who turned to the police officer saying, "Don't you know who I am!"
A myth died before our eyes in the most absurd way. His authority had collapsed and he didn't even realize it - he continued living with a sense of greatness that he did not possess. That Dogan, who played political solitaire in the country, who raised and brought down prime ministers, the balancer of ethnic peace, tragically ended up in a "barn"!
After days, he suffered the most spectacular political defeat that our post-totalitarian history can recall.
On May 19, 2025, from the headquarters of the MRF in Stamboliyski, they removed the portrait, archives, and documentation of the Movement. After losing his party, they took away his headquarters as well.
On the same day, the Turkish ambassador to our country. Mehmet Sait Uyanık took the podium in Djebel under the huge portrait of Delian Peevski and paid tribute to the peaceful resistance in Djebel on May 19, 1989, emphasizing that this is a turning point in the struggle for identity and freedom of the Turks in Bulgaria. This was symbolic - Turkey recognized Peevski's leadership over the Bulgarian Turks.
And now the answer to the question why Phenomenon ended so quickly, Philosophy? Because he did not lead the party, because his actions were cabinet-based and not in the field. Because he made mistakes that he did not admit - all of his personnel appointments turned out to be failures. Because he was not reactive, because the team around him was sluggish, devoid of ideas, and made unforgivable organizational and tactical mistakes. And most importantly - because he had Peevski against himself, who had long surpassed him. And whoever controlled all the mechanisms in order to end it. During these ten months from the beginning of his break with Peevski, Dogan could not handle any of the problems he created himself, proving that he is incapable of managing any crisis moment; he could not demonstrate leadership; he avoided political realities and reached such a tragic political end, which no other politician from the transition has experienced.
But this is not the end of this war.
44092 | 30 May 2025 | 01:43
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