About 200 citizens of Bulgaria's sea capital and top tourist destination Varna besieged the Municipal Administration Wednesday morning to protest against the cutting of trees in the downtown Sevastopol garden, which took place during the May 1-6 holidays.

"The City Is Not a Playground for Incompetent Politicians", one of the protesters' posters stated according to the report of the Bulgarian private Darik Radio.

The civic protest was supported by local environmentalist organizations such as the Zelena Varna ("Green Varna") association.

The protesters waited for over an hour to meet with a representative of the municipal administration. After they shouted energetically their slogans, the Deputy Mayor Venelin Zhechev finally showed up before them.

Zhechev explained that the firm that had been hired to execute the "sanitary" cutting and pruning of trees had done its job professionally. In his words the activity would continue for two more days.

The "sanitary" cutting of the trees in the central Sevastopol garden which started on May 1, was interrupted by resentful citizens and environmentalists. Then the Municipality promised it would not be resumed until a public discussion of the issue took place.

The explanation of the Municipal Administration about the cutting of the trees during the non-working days was that it aimed to cultivate the park by cleaning it from old trees and fallen branches, and by planting Indian lilac, red-leaved plum trees, and magnolias.

Meanwhile, the Varna environmentalists prepared a protest petition against the mutilation and destruction of the emblematic Sevastopol garden, which has already been signed by over 7000 Varna residents.

The organizers announced that official protest letters to the Bulgarian Parliament and the Regional Prosecutor's Office.

According to the statements from the technical crew, who pruned the trees, the purpose was to remove dry and old trees by allowing offshoots to grow, and by using the pruned two-meter high tree trunks for woodcarving.

According to unofficial information, however, the park has been destroyed so that a parking lot or some sort of an expensive building could be constructed in its place, and the whole activity is related to certain business interests.

The environmentalists have placed black bands on the trunks of the pruned trees and signs reading, "They mutilated me!"

The Sevastopol garden is located only a two-minute walk away from the building of the Municipal Administration, and a three-minute walk from the Sea Garden and the Black Sea coast. It is across from the famous Cherno More Hotel ("Black See Hotel").

Paradoxically, the affair with the cutting down of the trees in downtown Varna coincided with the visit of the MEP David Hammerstein, who declared that the environmental violations in Bulgaria were shocking.

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