Hundreds of people gathered Sunday to protest for and against the removal of the Monument of the Soviet Army in Sofia.

About 200 representatives of the initiative committee for the removal of the monument gathered on the one side of the monument.

At the same time, about 100 representatives of the youth organization of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) organized a counter-protest for its protection.

The protests were attended by the Sofia Deputy Mayor on Culture, Hristo Angelichin, who supported the idea for removal pr relocation of the monument.

The initiative committee, headed by Bulgarian journalist Ivo Indzhev and Municipal Counselor Martin Zaimov, stated the position that the Monument of the Soviet Army should be removed and transferred to a museum of totalitarian art.

In their opinion, the monument is "shameful because it represents the communist country that crushed its people."

Zaimov has stated that he will propose to the Municipal Council to vote for the dismantling of the monument.

As an answer, the protesters from BSP said that they insist on the preservation of all historical monuments in Bulgaria. They were waiving Che Guevara banners and were throwing eggs at the symbolically made effigy by Indzhev.

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