Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova. Photo by BGNES
Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova has refused to abolish the ongoing peaceful anti-government rallies in the Bulgarian capital, despite calls made by the ruling Socialists.
“I will not stop a single peaceful democratic protest. A politician’s job is not to ban and silence protests, but to listen to them,” Fandakova told the Standart daily.
On Thursday, Sofia municipal council members from the Bulgarian Socialist Party urged Fandakova to “ensure normality” in the city.
The Socialists said they wanted Fandakova to “guarantee the rights of non-protesters.”
“A ban on behalf of the Mayor would virtually mean that the police would be asked to take all possible measures so that the people and the protests would be dispersed. This is not what I want now,” Fandakova has said.
The series of anti-government protests in Bulgaria was triggered by the scandalous appointment of controversial media mogul Delyan Peevski as Chair of the State Agency for National Security (DANS) on June 14.
Although the appointment was revoked, Bulgarians went on to demand that the cabinet of PM Plamen Oresharski resign collectively.