Bulgarian Eco-Rallies to Occupy Sofia Junction for 5th Day

Society | June 17, 2012, Sunday // 09:12
Bulgaria: Bulgarian Eco-Rallies to Occupy Sofia Junction for 5th Day Wednesday evening Bulgarian citizens, mainly young people, spontaneously assembled in outrage at the passed amendments in the Forestry Act and blocked traffic in Sofia's central Orlov Most. BGNES

Bulgarian citizens will be rallying for a fifth day in a row Sunday against controversial amendments to Bulgaria's Forestry Act.

Saturday Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev vetoed the law, returning it to Parliament, but environmentalists assembled again on the Orlov Most, or Eagles Bridge, intersection in central Sofia to reaffirm their commitment to the case.

In Bulgaria's constitutional system, the President's veto has a consultative function and can be overruled by Parliament, with the President having no powers to impose a second veto.

If the new regulations stay, there will be slacker limits on the allowed rate of cutting down forests, and, what irks citizens most, commercial development in protected areas in nature will be greatly liberalized.

What is worse, the amendments were hurriedly pushed through Parliament in early 2012, at the pressure of the Vitosha Ski company, operated by notorious Bulgarian businessman Tseko Minev, who has a vast stake in Bulgaria's ski business.

The Bulgarian Parliament has two weeks now to reconsider the Forestry Act, and must now pass it with a majority of all 240 MPs, not only of the ones present in plenary.

In a coordinated move Saturday, ministers from PM Boyko Borisov's center-right GERB cabinet announced they are still supportive of the legislation and will try to push it through.

Civic protests erupted in Sofia Wednesday, when Parliament passed the Forestry Act, provoking hundreds of disgruntled citizens assemble at Eagles Bridge and block traffic for an hour.

The protests Thursday and Friday gathered thousands of citizens, who again blocked traffic, confronted riot police, and marched through the city center to the Presidency to request the veto.

Sunday citizens are planning an Occupy event at Eagles Bridge to plan their future actions, including pressure on Parliament to significantly revise the legislation or scrap it.

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Tags: Eagles Bridge, Orlov Most, Forestry Act, ski, Occupy, Rosen Plevneliev, Boyko Borisov, veto, rally, tseko minev, Vitosha Ski, protected areas

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