Opponents of vaccines in Bulgaria have tried to storm the parliament

The protesters, who support the far-right party, were stopped by police and several people were injured and arrested in clashes.

They demand the abolition of the obligation to wear masks and the green mark, and have promised to stay close to parliament until their demands are met.

The vaccination rate in Bulgaria is the lowest in the EU

IP

12/01/2022

Wednesday, 12 January 2022, 18:34 Updated: 18:58

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The prime minister invited them for talks.

Demonstration outside parliament in Sofia, today (Photo: AP, Valentina Petrova)

Protesters opposing corona restrictions in Bulgaria clashed with police today (Wednesday) as they tried to storm parliament in the capital, Sofia.

The presence of large police forces at the scene prevented the protesters from entering the building, and some were arrested.

Several people, including police officers, were injured during the clashes.

Eventually, the protesters were repulsed and police blocked access to the compound.

Violence erupted in a protest rally against the authorities' decision to require the wearing of masks and vaccines.

The demonstrations were organized by a nationalist group that strongly opposes restrictions imposed by the Bulgarian government.

"The purpose of the protest is to abolish the restrictive measures and especially, first of all, the unconstitutional green mark," Kostadin Kostadinov, leader of the Verezhdan party, said before the protest.

The demonstrators also placed a display of a guillotine with a mask attached to it.

"The green character - unconstitutional."

A display of a guillotine with a mask tied to it in a demonstration, today (Photo: AP, Valentina Petrova)

The party has 13 seats in the 240-seat parliament, and it enjoys support among opponents of the Corona restrictions.

The demonstrators, who numbered in the thousands, waved Bulgarian flags and sang patriotic songs.

They remained in the square in front of the National Assembly, saying they planned to stay there until their demands for the abolition of the obligation to wear masks and vaccination certificates were met.

Bulgaria, which is facing a resurgence in morbidity, is the country with the lowest immunization rate among the 27 EU member states.

Only a third of its population is fully vaccinated against the virus.

Prime Minister Kirill Petkov called for calm and invited representatives of the protesters to meet with him on Friday in his office to discuss their demands.

He carried a nam from his home, where he is in isolation due to exposure to a corona patient.

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