Bulgarian expatriates in 20 cities abroad join anti-government protests
Through an initiative on Facebook, Bulgarian expatriates in 20 cities in foreign countries were joining protests on August 16 demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Boiko Borissov’s government and Prosecutor-General Ivan Geshev.
This was the 39th consecutive day of the protests.
The initiative on Facebook showed that Bulgarians taking part included those from communities in Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Berlin, Mannheim, Hamburg, Munich, Vienna, Oslo, Auckland, London, Birmingham, Amsterdam, Boston, Paris, Madrid, Montreal and Vancouver.
This is not the first time in recent weeks that protests against Bulgaria’s government and Prosecutor-General, demanding their resignations and early parliamentary elections, have been held in various cities abroad.
In Bulgaria, a “March of Freedom” from Svilengrad to Sofia, a distance of more than 280km, entered its third day on August 16. Participants are carrying an iron rail, which they describe as a “symbol of a deceived people,” according to a report by Bulgarian National Radio.
The participants have set as their destination Eagle Bridge (Orlov Most) in Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia.
In the capital, in spite of the torrential rain that swept the city on the night of August 15, the three “tent camps” preventing car traffic at Eagle Bridge, Sofia University and Nezavisimost Square remained in place on August 16. Amid the obstruction at Eagle Bridge, a corridor has been provided to enable ambulances to pass through.
In Bulgaria’s Black Sea city of Varna, a second tent camp that had closed part of Maria Louisa Boulevard and Shipka Street was removed by protesters. The tent camp had caused major traffic obstruction.
The tent camp outside Varna municipal headquarters remains in place.
For as little as three euro a month, you can become a Patreon supporter of The Sofia Globe, with access to exclusive subscriber-only content:
