site.btaProtests in Southern Town after Clashes between Roma People and Rowing Club Members

Protests in Southern Town after Clashes between Roma People and Rowing Club Members

Assenovgrad, Southern Bulgaria, June 29 (BTA) - Some 1,500 people joined a protest outside the Town Hall in the southern town of Assenovgrad on Wednesday evening with calls for removal of Roma people from the town after clashes between residents of the local Roma neighbourhood with youths from a rowing club during practice. Mayor Emil Karaivanov has invited representatives of the protestors and officers of the competent institutions to his office Thursday noon to discuss the situation.

According to eyewitness accounts, on June 26 a group of Roma men kicked up a row with youths from the rowing club during practice in the Forty Springs Lake near the town. The conflict escalated and moved in the centre of Assenovgrad later in the day where the Roma reportedly assaulted the young rowers, their coaches and parents. Some rowers sustained unspecified injuries. Eight of the attackers were arrested.

The clash prompted the Wednesday protest where people urged the authorities to address a problem with the Roma community which they said had been simmering for years. They also want the Roma to leave the town.

The protestors want to talk to Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and threaten to protest every night until their demands are met.

Police presence in Assenovgrad has been beefed up. Gendarmerie and police are guarding the approaches to the Roma neighbourhood to prevent further clashes.