Bulgaria's ultra-nationalists presented a draft law to ban broadcasts streaming in languages other than Bulgarian at the official television BNT and radio BNR, in an attempt directly targeting the country's ethnic Turkish minority.

The Patriotic Front (PF) electoral coalition, which backs the Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's coalition government, presented a draft bill to the country's parliament seeking to remove broadcasts aimed at citizens whose mother tongues are different than Bulgarian.

PF's parliamentary group chairman Valeri Simeonov claimed that the current practice does not encourage citizens to learn and use Bulgarian, and therefore a new regulation is needed.

BNT spares 10 minutes a day for broadcasts in Turkish, whereas BNR, which broadcasts in 11 different languages, spares three hours a day for Turkish broadcasts in the morning, noon and evening.

Turks make up almost 10 percent of the population in Bulgaria, which has a total population of 7.3 million. Roma people also make up around five percent of the population.

PF is composed of two minor ultra-nationalist parties, namely the National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria (NFSB) which was split from the far-right Attack Party, and IMRO – Bulgarian National Movement, which bears the name of the organization that pioneered the struggle against the Ottoman Empire along with numerous massacres terrorizing the local Muslim population in the past.

PF's support plays a key role in votes in the parliament.

Similar initiatives to ban such broadcasts proved unfruitful in the past.