Bulgaria's Katunitsa Marks 1 Year since Tragic Clashes

Society | September 22, 2012, Saturday // 13:32|  views

The memorial plaque for the two young men, who lost their lives, in September 2011 clashes in the Bulgarian village of Katunitsa. Photo by DarikNews

People from the Plovdiv village of Katunitsa in Bulgaria are marking Saturday the one year anniversary of the tragic events that led to the deaths of two teens.

Angel Petrov, 19, was intentionally killed at the end of September 2011 when a van ran over him. The van was allegedly commissioned by notorious local Roma clan leader Kiril Rashkov, aka Tsar Kiro, over a long-standing inter-family dispute. In the aftermath, 16-year-old Pavel Tolev, passed away from heart problems in the tumultuous events that followed Angel's death.

The one year anniversary will be marked with a rock fest, which is part of the 2-day program titled "Katunitsa Will Never Forget!," says Katunitsa Mayor, Krasimir Yurukov.

The fest is being held at the village stadium and will begin with a minute of silence in honor of the two young men.

A memorial plaque at the stadium entrance with the portraits of Angel and Pavel will be blessed and unveiled right before the concert.

The memorial mass will be served on Sunday at 12:30 pm, while a commemorative football game between veterans and the village current football team will be held in the afternoon. The procession in honor of Angel will start at 7 pm, while the one for Pavel will be held on September 24, the date of his death.

The Mayor explains the idea of the organizers is to show that locals will never forget the tragic events and will apply every effort to prevent them in the future.

Angel's death one year ago led to local villagers assembling in front of Tsar Kiro's estates on two consecutive nights and inflicting serious damage on them.

The Katunitsa events of September 23 and 24 led to protests across the country against what some saw as toleration on the part of the State and senior officials of the criminal world.

Kiril Rashkov has an alleged long record in bootleg alcohol production, illegal acquisition of land, organization of pickpocketing networks, and human trafficking.

The rallies across the country regrettably took on some clearly racist overtones, with protesters chanting anti-Roma slogans.

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Tags: Angel, Pavel, Katunitsa, Plovdiv, violence, protests, Roma, racist, killed, Tsar Kiro, Kiril Rashkov, Rock Fest, mayor, football game, solemn mass, procession, memorial plaque, clashes

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