site.btaBulgarian Socialist Party Members and Supporters Demand Government Resignation in Annual Rally

July 25 (BTA) - The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) organized its annual national rally on Saturday, which traditionally takes place at the Hadzhi Dimitar Peak in the Balkan Mountains at the largest ideological monument of the communist regime in Bulgaria, Buzludzha (also known as the House-Monument of the Bulgarian Communist Party). This year, the Buzludzha 2020 rally was held in the centre of the capital, under the slogan "Against Corruption and Robbery. Together for Bulgaria".

The organizers said that over 10,000 BSP members and supporters, who came by bus from all over the country, gathered at Alexander Nevsky Square on Saturday.

The crowd marched along Sofia centre to the Council of Ministers building, where a protest-rally took place. There, BSP leader Kornelia Ninova said: ''Here we are, different in age and occupation, but our love for Bulgaria brought us together, and we are here together to save Bulgaria from the mafia''.

''Mr. Borissov, you will go down in political history represented by the image of a drawer full of money and a gun next to your head to keep them safe,'' Ninova told the Prime Minister, referencing a recent such leaked photo of him that caused much controversy. ''The Bulgarian Socialists are united and we are here to tell you: "Resignation!",'' she continued. ''The people on the streets are fighting for morality, but also for bread, for jobs, for education for every child, for access to health care, fair income, decent pensions, for clean nature and protection to our fertile land. This is our oath to Bulgaria, this is our commitment to our compatriots, this is our plan to restore the country and build it up again from scratch,'' Ninova said.

BSP for Bulgaria MP Rumen Gechev recalled that the BSP has been on the political scene for 129 years, and that the ruling party has neither a short-term nor a medium-term development programme. ''They are only interested in the money in their pockets and in their drawers, at our expense,'' he said.

Left-wing MEP Tsvetelina Penkova said that ''Buzludzha has arrived in Sofia'' to confirm its place alongside the people fighting against corruption and the mafia.

''The whole country wants a [government] resignation, we want a resignation as well,'' said Emil Georgiev, Chairman of Ecoglasnost, part of the BSP for Bulgaria coalition.

Socialists and supporters chanted "Mobsters, Out!" and "Resignation!". During the rally, its organizers called on those present to observe the anti-epidemic measures and to stay at a distance. RI/DT
/DT/