site.btaProsecutors Hold National Meeting amid Protest and Heavy Police Presence

 August 24 (BTA) - Bulgarian prosecutors are holding a
national meeting Monday to, as they said, reconfirm their
resolve to remain independent. The forum comes amidst a second
month of protests against corruption, the government and the
Prosecutor General, who is blamed by protesters for allowing a
deep state to grow in Bulgaria.

The Yes, Bulgaria! opposition party threatened to hold a rally
outside the prosecutors' national conference venue - which is
why the entire area around the Boyana Residence was cordoned off
 by police and the event started amidst heavy police presence.

In his opening remarks to nearly 700 attending prosecutors,
Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev said they have come under fire by
 those "who don't want light in the darkness", to use his
words. "We are [accused of being] mafia because we have
brought light into the darkness: with deeds and not with words,
as the Apostle of Freedom, Vassil Levski, has taught us," said
Geshev, referencing the Bible and the most loved Bulgarian
freedom fighter Levski (1837-1873).

The event started with the national anthem and the anthem of
the European Union.

In his opening speech, the Prosecutor General said that the
prosecution service is subject to all forms of attacks, and
presented a mock list of reasons why the service is being called
 a mafia, such as its numerous victories over phone scams, drug
smuggling, theft and double standards. "This is what makes us
bad for the bad, which can only mean we are good for Bulgaria's
citizens and society, for those who pay our salaries, and
nothing else matters. This means we are doing our job well,"
Geshev said.

"We are all here, because a red line has been crossed: the rule
of law is under threat, and so is the independence of the
Bulgarian prosecution service," he went on to say.

The National Meeting adopted by a majority vote a position,
pointing out that the attempts by representatives of the
Bulgarian political elite to threaten the independence of the
prosecution service through pressure, are a warning sign for an
impending problem.
  
According to the position, political talk must not cross the
line where it starts to threaten the fundamental elements of the
 prosecution service's statute. "This line was crossed
effortlessly and blatantly in an EU member state that is relied
on to protect European values. The calls for a "re-selection" of
 Bulgaria's prosecutors have crossed outside the rule of law
realm."

The prosecutors also state that despite all of this, they will
continue working with the same efficiency and motivation, and
that they "only owe obedience to the law and our own
conscience".

The prosecution service's position will be sent to the Committee
 of Ministers, the European Commission for the Efficiency of
Justice, the European Commission for Judicial Cooperation, the
European Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice
Commission), the European Commission, the European Parliament,
the International Association of Prosecutors and the
Consultative Council of European Prosecutors.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Interior Hristo
Terziyski and Justice Minister Danail Kirilov, who told
journalists afterwards that the amendments to the Constitution
must be the result of a rational, unbiased and honest dialogue,
free of oligarchs who manipulate it. Kirilov also said that he
was one of the six people who prepared "this initial draft for a
 new Constitution". RI/MT