Bulgarian-Greek Border Closed Indefinitely over Protests

Business | February 7, 2011, Monday // 17:21|  views

About 200 Greek textile industry workers have arrived at Kulata-Promahon at about 11 am Monday, making a human fence and closing the border for traffic. Photo by BGNES

The Greek demonstrators, gathered at the Bulgarian-Greek cross border point of Kulata-Promahon, failed to adhere to their promise to lift their blockade at 3:30 pm.

A reporter of the Bulgarian news agency BGNES is quoted informing the border has been closed indefinitely, starting at 2:30 pm., and there is no guarantee whatsoever it would reopen at 6:30 pm as previously stated by the rally participants.

The demonstrators, about 200 Greek textile industry workers, not farmers, as reported earlier, have arrived at Kulata-Promahon at about 11 am Monday, making a human fence and closing the border for traffic for one hour. Then they reopened it for 30 minutes and closed it again for one hour.

The blockade is about 800 meters away from the border point, on Greek territory.

At 2 pm, when the blockade was last lifted about 100 trucks and about 50 cars were able to pass from the Greek side.

The Bulgarian traffic police, under an agreement with their Greek colleagues, are stopping all vehicles traveling to Greece.

The textile workers are from a nearby factory, which has been closed for two years. They demand their unpaid salaries and the State interference in reopening the business, and threaten to keep the blockade for a month.

BGNES cites unofficial reports that armed military in armored vehicles are located nearby, ready to prevent a blockade similar to the one from one year ago when tractors and other farming machinery were used.

Last year, Bulgarian businesses reported a total of BGN 15.3 M in losses from the February 2010 border blockade by Greek farmers.

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Tags: greece, border, protests, farmers, Strike, blockade, Kulata-Promahon, Ilinden-Exochi, human fence, textile workers

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