The police from Bulgaria’s Black Sea town of Nessebar used force Monday to disperse protesting students and educators from the Sofia Sports Academy.

The demonstrators organized a live chain to protect their sports facility and camp at the beach resort Ravda. The incident was triggered by the order of the Nessebar Mayor, Nikolay Dimitrov, to take down the fence of the facility. Dimitrov says the fence is illegal and limits the access of private owners whose lands inside the complex have been restituted.

The clashed lasted about half an hour and at the end the fence was dismantled. There are no serious injuries reported, but some students have scratches on their palms and their clothes have been ripped off.

The private owners were also present during the clashes.

There is a raging dispute between them, the Sports Academy and the Nessebar Town Hall about the ownership of the land.

The Ravda protests were supported by a small student rally in Sofia, led by the President of the Sports Academy, Lachezar Dimitrov, who said he is holding the Nessebar Mayor responsible.

“For over 10 years the leadership of the Sports Academy is attempting to reach a just solution of the problem and to protect the State interests, but we meet the open and hidden opposition of the local authorities and business, and of former cabinets, who protected private privatization interests,” an open letter of the Sports Academy reads.

In December 2009, the Sports Minister, Svilen Neikov, announced the State planned to return the disputed lands to the Academy and compensate the private owners by offering them other properties.

The Council of Ministers is going to make a decision on the issue on Wednesday.