About 1,500 policemen in riot gear guarded the Thursday protest rally in front of the Parliament building in downtown Sofia, Bulgarian information agencies report. Photo by Nadya Kotseva (Sofia Photo Agency)
About 1,500 policemen in riot gear guarded the Thursday protest rally in front of the Parliament building in downtown Sofia, Bulgarian information agencies report.
The rally was officially brought to conclusion around 2:30 pm with it organizers adamant that the demonstrators would convene again on Friday. They also announced that they were trying to organize a Saturday protest to give the opportunity to those who had to be at work to attend and voice their civil position.
According to information from the Bulgarian Interior Ministry, about 1,300 demonstrators came to the Thursday rally, organized by college students, farmers and environmental activists demanding the Cabinet's resignation.
In the aftermath of Wednesday's violence, the Police and the Sofia municipality undertook serious security measures by removing all traffic signs and any other metal objects, and cleaning all ice and everything in the area that could be used to attack the policemen.
The Police further listed Thursday personal data of the demonstrators while the Opposition Member of the Parliament Yane Yanev signaled that the measure illegally included minors.
The Sofia mayor Boyko Borisov accused the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party of turning the Wednesday protest into a riot and widespread violence. Borisov's Deputy Yulya Nenkova issued Wednesday an order to the Police to disperse the demonstrators, basing it on an alleged bomb threat.