site.btaKey Traffic Junctions in Sofia Blocked Again by Protesters

August 8 (BTA) - After police removed tents from key 
junctions in Sofia early on Friday, a group of protesters again
 blocked them to traffic late in the evening. This time the
police did not  remove the tents.

President Rumen Radev commented in a Facebook post on Friday 
evening that the government got the police involved in a 
conflict with the thousands of protesters. "The readiness to 
sacrifice civic peace in the name of political survival is an 
act of political escalation without a precedent during 
Bulgaria's transition. (...) The crisis of Bulgarian democracy 
cannot be resolved through repressive and police measures, they
 can only deepen it," said Radev.

He stated that the resignations of the cabinet and the 
Prosecutor General would be the first steps towards Bulgaria's 
return to the rule of law and democratic procedures.

Chief Inspector Krassimira Stoyadinova from the Metropolitan
Directorate of the Interior said on Saturday morning the police
 would keep trying to talk the protesters into removing the 
blockades.  No one was arrested on the night to Saturday.

Stoyadinova said protesters at the Eagles' Bridge had started
"building a barricade of refuse containers, street planters and
benches from the nearby park". The resulting solid barricades 
stopped all traffic, including ambulances, fire engines and 
other emergency vehicles. Protesters at the bridge were adamant
 that they would not talk with the police and would not budge,
she said. The large number of women at the barricade stopped the
  police from using physical force.

Public transport in the capital has been rerouted once again.

On Saturday, Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova pleaded with the
organizers and the protesters to remove the barricades: "The
calls for a rule of law which are central to the protest mean
nothing if they do not apply to those voicing them. (...) My 
'old-fashioned' call is for obeying the law. Otherwise every
fighter for justice risks turning into what they claim to be
fighting against," the Mayor said.

Later in the day, Sofia Police Chief Georgi Hadjiev told the
media that the Metropolitan  Directorate of the Interior would
bring life in the capital back to normal.

The barricades will be removed, said Hadjiev. "Obviously there
is no way that key junctions can remain closed, hampering the
free movement of all other people," he said, adding that from
now on the persons who violate the law will be held accountable
for everything.

Hadjiev said the Sofia police reported flagrant acts of
hooliganism and vandalism committed by the unlawful protesters,
which culminated in the Eagles' Bridge area. They ripped off
benches and other equipment and built barricades, the police
chief said.

The informal leaders at the barricades told women and girls
where to stand so as to form a human shield against the police.

 Hadjiev said: "Unlike all those persons, we do not view this as
 a war, and the health of Sofia residents, including those who
are demonstrating, though unlawfully and flagrantly, is of
exceptional importance to us." Given the increased risk of
people being injured, the leaders of the Metropolitan
Directorate decided to reduce the number of police officers. It
was also decided that when the time and circumstances are right,
 they will take the necessary steps to restore the
constitutional order in the capital as they did on the morning
of August 7. RY/DD

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