Bulgaria Roma Citizens Protest over Burgas Housing Demolition
Society | September 8, 2009, Tuesday
Some of the Roma men have locked their wives and children in the houses so as to stop them from being demolished. Photo by BGNES
200 Roma families in the Bulgarian Black Sea city Burgas have created a human chain surrounding their illegal houses to stop the local council from demolishing them.
At 07:30 Roma citizens from Burgas gathered in the 'Gorno Ezerovo' neighborhood to protect their homes. The first house in the neighborhood has already been demolished by Burgas municipality workers.
Some of the Roma men have locked their wives and children in the houses so as to stop them from being demolished. They also attacked police with stones and showed reporters at the scene documents that allegedly show they have been living there for over 50 years.
One of the Roma citizens, Rumen Cholakov, stated that local police had beaten up some of the protesters. He added that the protests have come about as many of the people think they will be left homeless.
The Mayor of Burgas, Dimitar Nikolov, denied these reports and said the situation is under control for the legal destruction of the properties. He also added that all of the Roma citizens have been given alternative council accommodation with low rents.
Tags: Roma, Burgas, housing, Gorno Ezerovo, demolition
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