Ataka MPs 'Crash' Sofia City Hall Meeting

Members of the Parliament from Bulgaria's extremist nationalist party Ataka have violently disrupted a sitting of the Sofia Municipal Council, dedicated to security in the capital.

The group included Miglena Alexandrova, Denitsa Gadzheva (said to be Ataka leader Volen Siderov's girlfriend), Kalina Balabanova, Kristian Dimitrov, Adrian Asenov, and several others.

After they burst in, the municipal councilors were forced to call the police and go on a 15-minute break over the disruption.

The MPs entered the City Hall headquarters on "Moskovska" street and the meeting hall by showing their parliamentary ID cards.

Miglena Alexandrova has caused the most chaos by screaming and shouting without asking for permission to address the participants.

In the aftermath, the Ataka MPs quickly left the building, refusing to answer reporters' questions.

Ataka are accusing Mayor, Yordanka Fandakova, of supporting the relentless anti-government rallies in Sofia because she refuses to ban them.

The Mayor, who was elected on the ticket of the formerly-ruling center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, GERB, is adamant a ban will lead to clashes with riot police and to violence. She says she does not want Sofia to turn into "another Istanbul."

Meanwhile, about 30 people have gathered on "Moskovska" street Saturday to protest against Fandakova for not taking enough measures to maintain public order during the rallies.

She told journalists she suspected the demonstrators were not common citizens, but rather supporters of Ataka and of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP.

"One cannot demand order when they violate it themselves," said Fandakova.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!