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Thousands of Bulgarians back on the streets against government

2020-07-13T16:51:34.611Z


Thousands of Bulgarians took to the streets on Sunday for the fourth consecutive evening to protest corruption and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Boiko Borissov's conservative government. In Sofia, more than 3,000 people demonstrated for several hours outside the government building, chanting "Mafia" and "Resignation" . Protesters also went to parliament, blocking traffic in much of the ...


Thousands of Bulgarians took to the streets on Sunday for the fourth consecutive evening to protest corruption and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Boiko Borissov's conservative government. In Sofia, more than 3,000 people demonstrated for several hours outside the government building, chanting "Mafia" and "Resignation" . Protesters also went to parliament, blocking traffic in much of the center of the capital until late in the evening. The Interior Ministry announced late in the evening that the rally in the capital had ended without incident.

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Hundreds of people also demonstrated against the government on Sunday in at least ten other cities in Bulgaria. Protests began Thursday in Sofia to protest searches ordered by the prosecution and carried out by armed police and prosecutors at the seat of the Bulgarian presidency. These searches were interpreted by the demonstrators as an attack against President Roumen Radev, supported by the socialists. Roumen Radev is very critical of the Conservative government. He accused him on Saturday of having "a mafia character" and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Boïko Borissov, which the latter refused. The demonstrators launched an online petition on Sunday to demand the departure of Boïko Borissov from power.

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The rally in Sofia on Friday resulted in violence. Eighteen demonstrators had been arrested, two of whom had been severely beaten and had to be hospitalized. This had resulted in even greater participation in the rallies on Saturday. President Radev then asked for the resignation of the government of Boïko Borissov and that of the attorney general, accused by the demonstrators of being instrumentalized by the conservative government. A new rally against the government is called for Monday in Sofia and a national protest for Thursday.

Read also: Searches of the Bulgarian presidency, thousands of demonstrators

Thirteen years after joining the European Union, Bulgaria is the country in the European Union most affected by corruption, according to the NGO Transparency International.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2020-07-13

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