Only 100 Attend Bulgaria Latest Anti-GMO Protest

A demonstrator holds Saturday a caricature of the Speaker of the Parliament, Tsetska Tsacheva, portrayed like Death saying” “Nothing Will Rescue You from GMO!” Photo by BGNES

About 100 people gathered Saturday in downtown Sofia to voice their latest protest against the amendments of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) Act.

The rally is organized by several civic organizations and NGOs and was held under the motto: “Patriots for Bulgaria Clean of GMO.”

The demonstrators vowed to continue their protests until Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, fulfills his promises to keep GMO only inside labs.

The participants held signs such as “Bulgaria Free of GMO,” and “There Is No Salvation from GMO,” carried caricature collages of Borisov and the Speaker of the Parliament, Tsetska Tsacheva, and sang patriotic songs, including the National Anthem.

On Friday Bulgaria's President, Georgi Parvanov, strongly criticized the amendments of the Bulgarian Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) Act.

During a special press conference dedicated to the economic crisis and the crisis between the Bulgarian institutions, Parvanov pointed out that he insists on a country free from GMO.

The President announced that if the Act is passed the way it has been proposed, he would veto it. In case the veto is not approved by the Parliament, Parvanov reiterated his earlier warnings that he would call a referendum on it.

Also on Friday, the Parliament fell into an interesting predicament when the GMO Act was discussed almost simultaneously by the MPs from the Bulgaria Parliamentary Environment Committee and in plenary hall.

Deputy Environment Minister, Evdokia Maneva, reported that the Committee's MPs had unanimously endorsed the proposal made by the MP from the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party, Kostadin Yazov, to prohibit the release of GMOs into the environment and also to add that all NATURA 2000 areas will be protected from GMOs.

In plenary hall, the second reading of the Act stalled over the failure to reach consensus and was postponed.

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