Angry Protesters Target Bulgarian TV Channel over Roma Conflict Reporting

"Stop "Gypsization"," and "We want retribution", read the banners of the protesters who besieged the bTV channel headquarters in Sofia. Photo by BGNES

Several dozens of people have flocked to the headquarters of the bTV channel in Bulgaria's capital Sofia protesting the station's reporting of the conflict in the village of Katunitsa in the past two days.

The protesters rallied to protest against the murder of a 19-year-old boy in the nearby village of Katunitsa.

Petrov was run over and killed by associates of local Roma boss Kiril Rashkov, aka Tsar Kiro, Friday night. This led to protests by local ethnic Bulgarians against Rashkov's Roma clan followed Saturday night by an attack on Rashkov's estates by several hundred football hooligans from Plovdiv and Sofia.

Petrov's funeral on Sunday brought together about 5 000 people and generated similar rallies across the country.

The protest in Sofia, however, led the police to cordon off the TV channel's building near the National Palace of Culture.

The protesters demanded a meeting with popular bTV reporter Mirolyuba Benatova – who was on the spot in Katunitsa as well as an apology from the TV station about its "interpretation" about the events in the Plovdiv village.

The rally dispersed subsequently after making clear its dissatisfaction with the reporting of the Katunitsa crisis, accusing the journalists of reporting favorably to the Roma, Roma boss Kiril Rashkov, and to "Turkey's interests."

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