September 9 protest demands immediate removal of Soviet Army Monument in Bulgaria’s capital
Protesters holding Bulgarian flags and posters with anti-communist slogans turned out on September 9 to demand the immediate removal of the Soviet Army Monument in Sofia.
The monument commemorates the Soviet Army’s invasion of Bulgaria at the close of the Second World War, an event that enabled decades of communist rule of the country.
Other placards held by the protesters read “We want a Bulgarian monument”, “Russia out of Bulgaria”, “Decommunisation” and described the monument as a disgrace. Two Soviet flags were burnt.
Decisions by Sofia city council, the Sofia district administration and the government have made possible the removal of the controversial monument from the centre of the city, but it remains unclear when this will happen.
“This monument belongs to the occupiers, the Russian occupiers who declared war, occupied Bulgaria, installed their puppets and exterminated all the intelligentsia,” Bulgarian National Radio quoted one of the protesters as saying.
A large police presence kept apart the protesters and a small group of pro-Kremlin supporters who oppose the plan to remove the monument.
(Screenshots via BNT)
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