Bulgaria’s anti-government ‘beach protest’ – in photos
On the 48th day of anti-government rallies in Bulgaria, the traditional morning protest outside Parliament morphed from “drinking coffee” to “sunbathing” on July 31.
Several dozen people came to the rally dressed as one would to the beach – complete with reclining chairs, umbrellas, beach towels and even an inflatable children’s pool.
The message of the morning protest, which usually draws fewer people than the morning, was meant to show MPs that the protesters had no intention of taking a summer recess – unlike the MPs, who voted to make August 2 the last day of the current Parliament session – and would take their summer holiday outside the National Assembly.
Traffic on the Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard outside Parliament was temporarily interrupted, but was later resumed in the afternoon. An impromptu game of beach volleyball went on at one point and on a couple of occasions when the ball flew over the metal enclosures around Parliament, the police returned the ball to the protesters, Bulgarian National Television reported.
Meanwhile, behind Parliament protesters continued to boo the MPs that attended the sitting to debate the Budget revision. According to reports in Bulgarian-language media, at least one person was detained after declining to show ID, with fellow protesters accuse police of using extreme force in detaining him.
(Top photo: noresharski.com)
