site.btaPolice Protests Planned on Opening Day of Bulgarian EU Presidency

Sofia, January 9 (BTA) - Police protests will be held on the day when the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council will open officially. Trade unions said that between 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. on January 11 demonstrators will "welcome" arriving delegations with posters at the intersection of Brussels Blvd. and Tsarigradsko Chaussee Blvd., and also at Eagles Bridge. By 6:15 p.m. the protesters will gather outside the Ivan Vazov National Theatre, where the opening ceremony for the Bulgarian EU Presidency will take place.

By these actions, police officers will press their demands for a 15 per cent rise of the basic salaries at the Interior Ministry, making them contingent on a socially measurable benchmark, and for a new Interior Ministry Act to be adopted by the National Assembly.

Another round of protests is planned for January 25, when EU interior ministers will meet in Sofia. A demonstration will be held near the NDK convention centre. In the meantime, the trade unions will continue their campaign by billboards with messages for arriving delegations.

Commenting on the forthcoming police protest later in the day, Interior Minister Valentin Radev said that he is still trying to be tolerant but believes that his Ministry's leadership and the Government have done what is necessary. He recalled that 20 million leva were allocated at the end of last year, or 480 leva per employee, and that between 30 and 55 leva (3 to 12 per cent) start to be paid now, with the incentives limited to the most hard-working officers, whereas the demands are for a 15 per cent wholesale rise. Radev noted that more than 48 million leva have been distributed in supplements to the salaries, apart from the 20 million leva at the end of the year. Another 17 million leva have been paid in uniform allowances, and 55 million leva are allocated as from this year for pay rises.

"They want a new Ministry of Interior Act, the law will definitely be amended, it is modified and improved all the time," he commented.