Bulgarian MPs Manage to 'Escape' Parliament Blockade

Police cordons are guarding Bulgarian lawmakers from antigovernment protesters in the capital Sofia, photo Facebook

The majority of Bulgarian lawmakers have managed to leave the building of the Parliament in the capital Sofia, surrounded by antigovernment protesters with the help of heavy riot police presence.

Police have pushed the crowd to nearby streets and made strong cordons, keeping demonstrators away, and providing space for MPs on foot or in automobiles to move leave the building.

University students, who organized the rally, and citizens, who supported them, are booing each passing MP car, while some lawmakers have just left on foot unnoticed and others were spotted running away.

Some protesters are throwing bottles at the automobiles.

Almost the entire parliamentary groups of ruling left-wing Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP, and the liberal, predominantly ethnic Turkish party Movement for Rights and Freedoms, DPS, and the opposition center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, GERB, have now left.

It was reported earlier that MPs from the extreme nationalist party Ataka have managed to sneak out unnoticed in the early afternoon.

BSP leader and leader of the Party of European Socialists (PES), Sergey Stanishev, was also spotted leaving around 4 pm, guarded by four officers from the National Security Services, NSO.

The lawmakers cut short their debates on the draft State budget 2014 amidst reports tensions outside are escalating.

The public radio BNR reports the current situation in downtown Sofia as "calmer."

It was also reported that a number of gendarmerie officers have put their shields on the ground in front of protesters, prompting their thundering applause.

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