Category Archives: Bulgaria

The Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria was recently condemned for hate speech against Roma. Seems this has no consequences in Bulgaria. He has not stepped down nor has he been asked to do so.
Bad.

– Bulgarians unfazed by anti-Roma hate speech from deputy prime minister. In: Deutsche Welle. 31.10.2017. http://www.dw.com/en/bulgarians-unfazed-by-anti-roma-hate-speech-from-deputy-prime-minister/a-41183829 [link-preview url=”http://www.dw.com/en/bulgarians-unfazed-by-anti-roma-hate-speech-from-deputy-prime-minister/a-41183829″]

A further article on the Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister condemned for hate speech against Roma.

– Bulgarian deputy prime minister Valeri Simeonov convicted of hate speech. In: The Times. 26.10.2017. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bulgarian-deputy-prime-minister-valeri-simeonov-convicted-of-hate-speech-q8pk9xgqk [link-preview url=”https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bulgarian-deputy-prime-minister-valeri-simeonov-convicted-of-hate-speech-q8pk9xgqk”]

The Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Simeonov was found guilty of anti-Roma hate speech. In a speech in Parliament, he compared Roma to “stray dogs” and accused them to live “outside the rules of human behaviour”.
Good!

– Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Simeonov found guilty of anti-Roma hate speech – NGO. In: The Sofia Globe. 25.10.2017. https://sofiaglobe.com/2017/10/25/bulgarian-deputy-prime-minister-simeonov-found-guilty-of-anti-roma-hate-speech-ngo/
– Bulgarian deputy PM reprimanded over anti-Roma speech. In:: Channel News Asia. 25.10.2017.
Read more at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/bulgarian-deputy-pm-reprimanded-over-anti-roma-speech-9344038 [link-preview url=”https://sofiaglobe.com/2017/10/25/bulgarian-deputy-prime-minister-simeonov-found-guilty-of-anti-roma-hate-speech-ngo/ “]

There was a clash between Roma and forest guards near Plovidiv that escalated while the guards were trying to prevent Roma from stealing wood. The guards were beaten up.
Bad, but also bad that sheer poverty forces people to go and steal wood to heat their homes.

– Stamen Geshev, Banya Mayor: Roma from town attacked and beat forest guards from Hisarya. In: Focus News. 17.10.2017. http://www.focus-fen.net/news/2017/10/17/424094/stamen-geshev-banya-mayor-roma-from-town-attacked-and-beat-forest-guards-from-hisarya.html [link-preview url=”http://www.focus-fen.net/news/2017/10/17/424094/stamen-geshev-banya-mayor-roma-from-town-attacked-and-beat-forest-guards-from-hisarya.html”]

An article about the Moslem Roma “threat” in Bulgaria where several articles in the local press state that the biggest threat to the country is the islamisation of the local Roma.
Bad.

– BULGARIE : LES ROMS MUSULMANS, UNE MENACE POUR L’« INTÉGRITÉ TERRITORIALE » ? In: Le Courrier des Balkans. 20.09.2017. https://www.courrierdesbalkans.fr/Les-Roms-de-Bulgarie-vus-comme-menace-un-sujet-d-espionnage-ou-un-sujet [link-preview url=”https://www.courrierdesbalkans.fr/Les-Roms-de-Bulgarie-vus-comme-menace-un-sujet-d-espionnage-ou-un-sujet”]

The Bulgarian Interior Minister Valentin Radev promised the return of Law and Order in Asenovgrad by adding policemen policing the Roma neighbourhood there. The city had been the scene of riots against Roma – allegedly because of petty criminality …
The right answer would be a different one.

– Minister Valentin Radev: There will be law and order in Roma neighbourhood in Asenovgrad. In: Focus Network. 24.08.2017. http://www.focus-fen.net/news/2017/08/24/422311/minister-valentin-radev-there-will-be-law-and-order-in-roma-neighbourhood-in-asenovgrad.html [link-preview url=”http://www.focus-fen.net/news/2017/08/24/422311/minister-valentin-radev-there-will-be-law-and-order-in-roma-neighbourhood-in-asenovgrad.html”]

The removal of Roma settlement continues in Bulgaria. This time, Roma 149 houses in Zaharna Faharna that are deemed to be illegal were destroyed.
Illegal means it was built without formal approval/land registry entry which happens to be the case of all Roma Mahalas.
BAD!

– 149 Illegal Roma Houses are being Destroyed in Sofia’s Zaharna Fabrika Quarter. In: Novinite. 22.08.2017. http://www.novinite.com/articles/182518/149+Illegal+Roma+Houses+are+being+Destroyed+in+Sofia%27s+Zaharna+Fabrika+Quarter [link-preview url=”http://www.novinite.com/articles/182518/149+Illegal+Roma+Houses+are+being+Destroyed+in+Sofia%27s+Zaharna+Fabrika+Quarter”]

The Bulgarian deputy prime minister has promised more police presence in the Roma parts of Plovdiv. Not to protect its citizen … But to “resolve” the problem of the Roma communities.
BAD

– Bulgarian Deputy PM promises stepped-up police presence in Roma area of Plovdiv. In: Sofia Globe. 03.08.2017. http://sofiaglobe.com/2017/08/03/bulgarian-deputy-pm-promises-stepped-up-police-presence-in-roma-area-of-plovdiv/ [link-preview url=”http://sofiaglobe.com/2017/08/03/bulgarian-deputy-pm-promises-stepped-up-police-presence-in-roma-area-of-plovdiv/”]

A reminder that the petition against the European MP from Bulgaria Angel Dzhambazki is still going.
PLEASE SIGN!

– Bulgarian MEP Accused of Hate Speech Against Roma. In: Balkan Insight. 18.07.2017. http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/sanctions-demanded-against-bulgarian-mep-for-anti-roma-rhetoric-07-17-2017 [link-preview url=”http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/sanctions-demanded-against-bulgarian-mep-for-anti-roma-rhetoric-07-17-2017″]

Bulgarian European MEP Angel Dzhambazki is being accused in an online petition of stirring up anti-Roma hatred. The Petition is on AVAAZ.
SIGN!!!

– Bulgarian MEP Accused of Hate Speech Against Roma. In: Balkan Insight. 18.07.2017. https://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/sanctions-demanded-against-bulgarian-mep-for-anti-roma-rhetoric-07-17-2017 [link-preview url=”https://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/sanctions-demanded-against-bulgarian-mep-for-anti-roma-rhetoric-07-17-2017″]

The protests in Assenovgrad are continuing. This is scary.

– Protests in Asenovgrad Continue. In: Novinite. 10.07.2017. http://www.novinite.com/articles/181106/Protests+in+Asenovgrad++Continue [link-preview url=”http://www.novinite.com/articles/181106/Protests+in+Asenovgrad++Continue”]

A rather long article on the Assenovgrad protests against Roma – Protests that nearly turned violent and were stopped by the police. This article is from a vey Bulgarian perspective and cites an alleged “assault” by Roma against a rowing team as the origin of the protests. This is a first one – before, it was a generic protest against “illegal” Roma settlements.

– Protests in Bulgaria: From Assenovgrad to the ‘1300 years’ monument. In: The Soifia Globe. 11.07.2017. http://sofiaglobe.com/2017/07/11/protests-in-bulgaria-from-assenovgrad-to-the-1300-years-monument-2/ [link-preview url=”http://sofiaglobe.com/2017/07/11/protests-in-bulgaria-from-assenovgrad-to-the-1300-years-monument-2/”]

A video of the manifestation against Roma in Asenovgrad in Bulgaria.
Bad.

– https://www.facebook.com/btvnews/videos/1376519369068539/ [link-preview url=”https://www.facebook.com/btvnews/videos/1376519369068539/”]

The Bulgarian city of Asenovgrad, in the South central part of the country, saw a huge manifestation by resident against Roma. They are protesting the “illegal” residence of Roma and their “criminal” activities.
Needless to say that the illegal part has to do with the privatisation of the land after communism – Roma have been there since the Byzantine times, and the criminal activities, if any are not related to ethnicity but to poverty.

– Social Tensions in Assenovgrad not Subsiding. In: Novinite. 30.06.2017. http://www.novinite.com/articles/180937/Social+Tensions+in+Assenovgrad+not+Subsiding [link-preview url=”http://www.novinite.com/articles/180937/Social+Tensions+in+Assenovgrad+not+Subsiding”]