Bulgarian Socialists Urge Govt to Resign over Gangland Assassination Attempt

MPs from the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party has urged the Cabinet of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the ruling center-right party GERB to resign over Tuesday's shooting in downtown Sofia aimed at assassinating emblematic mafia boss Zlatomir Ivanov, aka Zlatko Baretata (The Beret).

Zlatomir Ivanov suffered four gunshot wounds but survived; he was attacked by a sharpshooter as he was entering the Central Courthouse in downtown Sofia for his organized crime trial hearing.

"Gentlemen, you must resign," the Bulgarian Socialists urged the Borisov government in a declaration they read in Parliament on Wednesday.

"The society is shocked by the brutal showcase attempt on human life, on the right of life of everybody regardless of their social, legal, and personal status," says the BSP declaration read by MP Atanas Merdzhanov.

Medzhanov noted that the gangland assassination attempt took place just meters away from the meeting venue of Bulgarian PM Borisov's lunch with AmCham, the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria.

"This is an impudent attack against the democratic foundations of the state and the security of the citizens that cast a shadow on Bulgaria's European face," the Socialists said further.

"This is a demonstration of a disastrous policy authored by Boyko Borisov and Tsvetan Tsvetanov. This is a brutal disobedience of the rule of law, public order, and a demonstration of impunity. Instead of investigating and collecting evidence, the Interior Ministry is seeking channels for manipulating the public opinion," the Socialists stated.

"The only dignified way out of this situation is for you to resign. This is more moral!" their declaration concluded.