Indignant Bulgarians Heap Stones in Memory of Self-Immolator

Angry Bulgarian citizens have started heaping a pile of stones in front of the town hall of third-largest city of Varna in memory of Plamen Goranov, who past away Sunday, 13 days after setting himself on fire.

A politically and socially conscious young man, Goranov had named murky business group TIM as being the source of many of Varna's and Bulgaria's economic and social ills.

Before his self-immolation, he had also requested the resignation of longtime Varna mayor Kiril Yordanov, on grounds of alleged deep implication with TIM.

Goranov's naming of TIM has been seen by other participants in massive protests seething in Bulgaria for weeks now as a brave act, as Varna residents had been chronically loath to refer to the group, in view of possible consequences.

Tuesday citizens were irritated by the fact that local authorities had started to clean away flowers thrown in front of the Varna Town Hall, where Goranov set himself ablaze.

Some began carrying stones and rocks to the site, inspired by a well-known poem of Bulgarian national poet Ivan Vazov, dubbed "Heap of Stones."

Bulgaria's resigned cabinet has declared Wednesday, March 6, a day of national mourning in memory of Plamen Goranov.