Mystery Surrounds Protester-Besieged Bus of Bulgarian Officials
The window of the bus that attempted to evacuate Bulgarian ministers and lawmakers during last week’s siege of Parliament in Sofia may have been broken from inside, a video suggests.
As thousands of anti-graft protesters surrounded the Bulgarian Parliament in the evening of July 23, police decided to evacuate a number of MPs and the ministers of finance, labor and economy in a white bus. The move triggered the first clashes between police and demonstrators since mass anti-government protests began in the country on June 14.
The attempt to escort the officials out of Parliament was aborted after many protesters sat in front of the bus – and the siege continued until 4 am on Wednesday.
TV footage showed that one of the vehicle’s windows was broken a little after 10 pm on Tuesday.
The embattled Socialist-led government has condemned protesters for turning violent and throwing stones at the bus. But a video uploaded to YouTube now appears to prove that the window was broken from inside.
Several news websites reported Monday that police have confirmed that the window was broken from the inside. Interior Ministry officials allegedly told Dnevnik.bg, Trud and 24 Chasa that the window had been cracked and had to be broken in order to avoid injuries of the passengers.
However, the Interior Ministry later refused having commented on the incident, telling Offnews.bg that an official stance will be taken later.
The video can be seen HERE, with the window being broken at 3:08.
For 45 straight days, Bulgarian protesters have demanded that the government resign over a string of controversial appointments and wider concerns about corruption. With the exception of July 23, the rallies have been peaceful.
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