Bulgarian Expats to Organize Global Anti-Govt Rallies

Over eighty Bulgarians have gathered Wednesday on Times Square in New York City to protest against the situation in their homeland.

One of the organizers, Elena Hambardzhieva, told Novinite.bg that Bulgarians in New York want a real democracy, transparency in the rule of the country, and immediate amendments to the Election Code. They are protesting against corruption and greed in the high-echelons of power and the oligarchic model.

The expats in New York City have held rallies in front of the Bulgarian Embassy and the UN headquarters as well.

They plan a new protest on Times Square on Sunday under the motto DANSwithme globally. It is coordinated with 12 other cities across the globe, among them Sidney, Berlin, London, and Brussels.

Bulgarians in NYC plan to cross the Brooklyn Bridge on foot in a demonstration of solidarity with fellow country people all over the world.

The protests were sparked by the shocking decision of the government to appoint controversial media mogul and Member of the Parliament from the predominantly ethnic Turkish party Movement for Rights and Freedoms, DPS, Delyan Peevski as Chair of the State Agency for National Security (DANS).

The decision to make Peevski national security chief was eventually reversed, yet protesters went on to demand the resignation of the socialist-led government over ties with oligarchs, an end to opaque policies, and Election Code amendments aimed at guaranteeing a greater representation of Bulgarian citizens in the government.

Pictures from the Times Square rally made by Elena Paunova, Vanina Tsoneva and Alexander Stanishev can be seen HERE. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/98725794@N03/)

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