Tents situation in Sofia
Protesters in Sofia from the “Eagle Bridge” civic moment on March 4 2013 put up a tent in the park next to Parliament, saying that they will remain there until their demands are met.
These demands include the convening of a Grand National Assembly, a moratorium on debt collection by banks and changes to electoral laws to provide for direct participation in elections by citizens from outside political parties are met.
The demands have been put in a letter sent to Tsetska Tsacheva, Speaker of the National Assembly, Bulgaria’s unicameral Parliament.
“People have said in the letter that they will return home only when these commitments are made,” protester Yanaki Ganchev told reporters. “We are saying that we are the employers of this National Assembly. They should work until the 12th (of May, the date of Bulgaria’s early elections precipitated by the current political crisis) to work to get these things done”.
He said that it was expected that more tents would be put up. Currently, there is a surplus army tent, accompanied by a small plastic tent.
Ganchev said that the anti-monopoly protesters had permission from Sofia municipality to put up the tents. The tents would be there at least until March 12, he said. The delivery of a chemical toilet was expected.
He said that in spite of reports to the contrary, there were no plans to put up a tent outside the Presidency building.
Another protester, Stoyan Iliev, said that his 90-year-old aunt got a pension of 190 leva (about 80 euro) a month. “Naturally, she has stopped paying her heating bill,” Iliev said.
(The sign on the tent says, ‘this is not a protest, it is a process. Rebellion for a new Bulgaria.’ Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)
