site.btaBourgas Authorities Order Removal of Fence in Rossenets Park

August 4 (BTA) - The municipal government of Bourgas ordered the removal of a construction site fence in the seaside Rossenets Park, which blocked access to a municipal road leading up to a beach, City Hall said on Tuesday. The news was reported after photos circulated via social media showed a fence in front of a property in the park associated with the founder and honorary chairman of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) party, Ahmed Dogan.

In April 2020, the road to the beach was assigned to a private company which owns a palatial building in Rossenets Park, which is used as Dogan's summer residence. The decision practically cut off access to the nearby beach and it could be used exclusively by the inhabitants of the Rossenets residence, which contravened the law whereby all beaches are public state property and should be freely accessible.

A campaign against this situation was organized in July by Hristo Ivanov, the co-leader of the opposition Democratic Bulgaria. He first tried to reach the beach by boat but was pushed back by Dogan's bodyguards, and then inspired what was called "mass beach-going" at Rossenets where the participants clashed with police trying to stop them in order to prevent conflicts with MRF supporters, who had come to defend the residence of their party's founder.

All this added fuel to the fire which caused the ongoing protests against corruption in Bulgaria, against the government and the Prosecutor General.

On July 28 the road to the notorious Rossenets beach became public property again after the Bourgas Municipal Council retracted a decision whereby the public road had become private property.

This past Monday, SvobodnaEvropa.bg said that the road to the beach was blocked again. On Tuesday, Hristo Ivanov went to the spot to see for himself. The Democratic Bulgaria co-leader found that the fence was partially removed, apparently because of the presence of journalists.

Later, the municipal government of Bourgas ordered that the municipal road be made freely accessible to the public. The order was addressed to the owner of the property. The owner, the construction supervision authority and the construction company were asked to provide, within seven days, the written statements and protocols issued during construction at the site. These documents will show whether the buildings in the property are occupied legally.

The municipal government has never received any application to register the newly constructed buildings and to certify their coming into use. The owner was warned that in case of failure to provide the required documents on time, the municipal government will take steps to ban the use of the buildings. RI/VE
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