Bulgaria: Ethnic unrest in Garmen

In Garmen, a village in Bulgaria, ethnic tensions have flared. Following fight between Rroma teenagers and ethnic Bulgarians, there have been appeals to peace by the Rroma population and appeals for an anti Rroma manifestation on June 2^nd. A probable background of the fight may be the “illegal” nature of the Rroma settlement, i.e. the fact that many buildings were built without the necessary authorisations and the non-Rroma citizen protesting against theft and criminality in the village. Meanwhile, even the deputy mayor of the village has been apparently beaten up by Rroma teenagers, showing that the tensions are far from ebbing.