The protests in Bulgaria
- Nadia Dimitrova
- Jul 12, 2020
- 4 min read
When I first saw my friends posting about the protests in Sofia on July 9th, I was not entirely sure what was going on. Of course, there wasn’t much online. So I called my mom - and she told me what she heard on the news. Except that was only a twisted portion of what had actually been going on. Bulgaria is rated in 111th place (out of 180 countries) for its freedom of speech. Our government pays the media to broadcast whatever they are told. The news we get are so twisted that Bulgaria’s Press Freedom Index is lower than Kuwait, Mali or Ecuador (RSF).
So I decided to do my own research. That being said, I just want to warn everyone that some statements here are my personal interpretations of events. Please feel free to research everything you might find yourself asking about! And feel free to message me and let me know if you believe that my words might be biased. I know I need to learn even more.
People in Bulgaria are currently protesting the corrupt government headed by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, asking him and chief Prosecutor Ivan Gechev to resign and stand a trial for their crimes.
A picture of Prime Minister Borissov sleeping with a gun, and a nightstand drawer full of Euros in cash packs (symbolizing his corruption and attempts to evade prosecution)
The protests began after the Bulgarian version of the Department of Justice (Prokuratura/Prosecutors) conducted an armed raid of the Presidency and searched the offices of Presidential Secretary on Legal Affairs and Anti-Corruption, Plamen Uzunov and of Security and Defense Secretary Iliya Milushev, after which the two were arrested.
The corrupt Prosecutors headed by Geshev used these actions to delay probes into local oligarchs such as Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and silence the current office, but caused an uproar in the supporters of Borissov’s political rival - President Rumen Radev.
This lead to tens of thousands of people to march the streets of Sofia on the next day (July 10th) to demand an end to corruption (in both rivals' parties - DPS and GERB).
President Radev endorsed the cause (whether because of his rivalry, for PR, or to encourage the people):
'The Bulgarian mafia has achieved the impossible – it has united honest people against it. It is up to all of us to expel the mafia from the executive branch […]. It is a battle for a free, modern and European Bulgaria. In this battle all who love Bulgaria will be together.' (BNR)
Radev gave another speech on July 11th, the second day of the protests:
’We are not here because we are the same. We are here to defend our freedom. To be ourselves, we first must be free’
He added that the mistakes from the mass protests in 2013 — which lost momentum as people split into political factions — will not be repeated (IntelliNews).
Meanwhile, Borissov’s ruling party GERB organized a separate counter-protest in his defense. However, chats were leaked showing that Gerb’s organisers sent orders demanding that a specific number of people be sent in Sofia from each town, including Gerb members of local governments:
This caused tensions between the two protesting crowds, one supporting Radev, and one being paid by GERB (Borissov’s party). As protestors marched the streets of cities, they suffered as victims of police brutality:
Content warning!
To avoid aggression, Radev called upon protestors on his side:
'In the coming days, the mafia will sow discord, denigrate the leaders of the protest, claim that you are paid, stage fake contra-protests and provocations. But let them know one thing: paid protests are there where the busses are [many famous photos of such busses can be found on Facebook - cite]. I want to ask you one very important thing: do not be aggressive to our brothers and sisters who are from the other side. They are there out of force and fear. Let’s help them free themselves from the fear and compulsion. I am persuaded they soon will do that.' (BNT)
The same second day of protests, on July 11th, began the protest at Rosenets - the secluded private villa of the controversial politician Ahmed Dogan:
This screenshot of Google Maps shows the Rosenets area, and the villa of Dogan, ironically titled ‘Dogan’s palace’
A video that went viral from July 8 showed Hristo Ivanov, leader of the third opposing party ’Da, Bulgaria!‘, calling Dogan’s residence near Burgas and the restricted access to the nearby beach illegal (Balkan). In the video, Ivanov is seen being pulled away by policemen and guards:
Following the video, the President demanded to reconsider the private details offered to Dogan and Peevski (members of the DPS party) and it is rumored that this caused the raid by the Prosecutors on July 9th.
To best clarify the protest at Rosenets, I urge you to read this blog, written by someone I look up to and trust:
I’ll take the liberty to summarize it for those who don’t speak Bulgarian. The blog opens with what the protest at Rosenets is not: an ethnic conflict, a deliberate setback to joining the Eurozone waiting area, or pre-election PR (all of which have been insinuated against party ‘Da, Bulgaria!’).
What truly resonated with my love for Bulgaria were the following three paragraphs describing what Rosenets is:
1) A symbol - a place where the corruption that everyone feels but cannot describe without extensive legal research is embodied by an unconstitutional seizure of land whose usurpation is funded by our taxes;
2) Enlightenment - about the connection between corrupt parties and officials, about media coverage, and about illegitimate usurpation of power;
3) A beginning - some resignations have been made, but this fight has just started - we need to take arms and fight to forge the future we want for our children as Bulgarians. We need to take control of the political scene and lead Bulgaria to a brighter and non-corrupt future.
Some references:
IG posts by @danielasolueva
good !