site.btaResidents of Harmanli Demand Only Couples with Children to Be Placed in Local Migrant Centre 

Residents of the southern town of Harmanli on Saturday held another rally to demand that only married couples with children be accommodated at the local reception centre and their number should be up to 400. “This is our next goal,” said Daniel Grozev from a civic initiative committee, which wants to close the institution and move it. 

According to the organizers, this is the 24th protest. The march started from the local community centre. It was led by motorists from the local club. The procession headed to the migrant centre, where protesters closed for an hour the exit to the Maritsa highway. In his address, Grozev reported that two of the goals have already been achieved with deploying a gendarmerie unit in the city and adopting a government decision that assigns the protection of these centers to the Interior Ministry. 

However, not all the requests to the State Agency for Refugees have been met, Grozev told BTA earlier. He pointed out that the fence of the camp should be restored and video surveillance with facial recognition cameras should be installed. The curfew is violated, weapons, alcohol, and drugs are imported, there are cases documented by the authorities, Grozev said. 

Ventsislav Gospodinov, from the initiative committee, said that the current capacity of 1,700 people is unacceptable, as it represents over 10% of the city's population. Young men from the center gather in groups in the city, tease young women and girls, he said. As of March 22, the number of migrants residing in the center was 517.