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100-200 persons gathered Sunday in downtown Sofia in front of the Ministry of Interior to request the resignation of minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov. Photo by BGNES
Bulgarian police scattered a protest of 100-200 people organized by the Order, Law and Justice (RZS) party requesting the resignation of Minister of Interior Tsvetan Tsvetanov.
Protesters, led by RZS leader Yane Yanev and presidential hopeful Atanas Semov, assembled Sunday in front of the Ministry of Interior in downtown Sofia.
Tensions deteriorating into violence and racist slogans have grappled Bulgaria last Saturday after an ethnic Bulgarian youth in the village of Katunitsa was killed by a van driven by Roma.
However, the case is more complicated, the Roma involved reportedly being dependent on controversial Roma clan leader Kiril Rashkov, aka Tsar Kiro.
Rashkov has been long suspected in a range of illegal activities such as bootleging, human trafficking, extortion and vote-buying, but only now authorities have attempted to unveil his doings.
As part of their slogans, protesters have been speaking out against what they see as systematic protection of major organized crime leaders on the part of authorities.
Sunday protesters were shouting slogans such as "Tsetso Out!" and RZS leaders have requested the immediate sacking of Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov and calling regular police officers to join them.
Some of the protests over the week have turned violent, with people beaten and property destroyed.
Later Sunday, a rally is planned to be held in second-largest city of Plovdiv, which is nearby Katunitsa, by supporter of local football teams Lokomotiv and Botev.
Football hooligans were among those who turned protests over the week into violence, and who have shouted racist anti-Roma slogans.
The fan clubs of Lokomotiv Plovdiv and Botev Plovdiv, who organized the Sunday rally, have vowed that it will be a peaceful event and that no hateful or racist rhetoric will take place.
Bulgaria's Minister of Interior Tsvetan Tsvetanov has been on an official leave since the start last Friday of the campaign for presidential and municipal elections October 23, as the campaign chief of staff of ruling GERB party.
The start of the election campaign nevertheless regrettably coincided with the tragic incident in Katunitsa.
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Bulgaria is bracing for an increase in disinformation activity in the run-up to the parliamentary elections on April 19, with authorities warning of coordinated attempts to influence voters and destabilize public trust
Health authorities in Bulgaria report a total of 101 confirmed measles cases across the country, according to data from the Ministry of Health
Good Friday, known in Bulgaria as Razpeti petak, is one of the most solemn and deeply observed days in the Orthodox Christian calendar
The Bulgarian scientific research vessel “Sts. Cyril and Methodius” (NIC 421) has returned to Varna, docking at the Marine Station and marking the official end of the country’s 34th Antarctic expedition
Holiday weather conditions are expected to remain mixed across Bulgaria, with alternating periods of sunshine and rain showers, according to the forecast
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has decided that no official delegation will travel to Jerusalem this year to receive the Holy Fire, citing the ongoing tensions in the Middle East
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