Global Voices » Ruslan Trad

Bulgaria: Human Rights Organizations Against a Neo-Nazi March

Ruslan Trad — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:27:18 +0000

The civic initiative “People Against Racism” is appealing [en] to the Municipality of Sofia and the Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria with the request to ban an international neo-Nazi racist conference scheduled for Feb. 17 and a neo-Nazi torchlight procession known as the “Lukov March” on Feb. 18. Every year since 2005, Bulgaria's far-right, neo-Nazi, and ultra-nationalist groups have commemorated the death of Gen. Hristo Lukov, who supported Nazi Germany during WWII. Lukov March 2011 drew protests from many civic groups and human rights organizations, including the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, the Jewish organization B'nai B'rith, and People Against Racism. (More about Lukov March; a 2010 video.)

Bulgaria: Protests Against Shale Gas Exploration

Ruslan Trad — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:57:50 +0000

On Jan. 14, some 15,000 protesters came out in the streets of at least 12 Bulgarian cities, as well as in London, Paris and Copenhagen, to call for a moratorium on shale gas tests through hydraulic fracturing and to demand a new law that would ban this potentially dangerous practice. Facebook group “We are against a Bulgarian Chernobyl - shale gas exploration” [bg] now has nearly 56,000 members; a photo from the rally in Sofia, posted by one of the group's members, is here. One of the videos from the rally is here.

Bulgaria: 30,000 Protest Against Cuts and Pension Reform

Ruslan Trad — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 02:30:16 +0000

According to the trade unions, between 25,000 and 30,000 people protested in Sofia on Wednesday against the new pension reform, social cuts and the cancellation of the majority of trains in the country (a photo; videos - here and here). The police sent to contain the rally supported the people's demands by wearing ribbons in the colors of the Bulgarian national flag on their uniforms. MPs from the ruling party tried to talk with the protestors, but were booed. The protests will continue because of the cancelation of talks between the government and the trade unions.

Bulgaria: New Protest Against Shale Gas Planned

Ruslan Trad — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:41:16 +0000

A new protest is being planned for Nov. 26 in Sofia, part of a series of protests against Chevron's shale gas extraction in northeast Bulgaria. On Nov. 20, nearly 500 people attended a rally in the coastal city of Varna, which didn't receive adequate media coverage. Several Facebook groups have been created: Sofia: BULGARIA can count on us - not shale gas! [bg, 740 members], We are against a Bulgarian Chernobyl - shale gas extraction [bg, 30,815 members].

Bulgaria: Protest Against Shale Gas Extraction

Ruslan Trad — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:05:38 +0000

The Nov. 16 protest against Chevron's extraction of shale gas in northeast Bulgaria had been organized through Facebook event. The poster on this photo reads: “Why did you sign, Boyko [PM Borisov's first name] - out of stubbornness?” Protesters chanted slogans against the government, calling them “traitors” because of the signed agreement for extraction of shale gas.

Bulgaria: #OccupyBulgaria on Oct. 15

Ruslan Trad — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 20:24:02 +0000

Bulgarian activists announced that they would join in the global #Ocuppy action on Oct. 15. There is a Facebook event and a group call for action, real democracy and #OccupyBulgaria. The activists have been inspired by the protests in Greece, the United States and Spain.

Bulgaria: Clashes Between Roma and Ethnic Bulgarians in Katunitsa

Ruslan Trad — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 21:55:39 +0000

Violent clashes in the Bulgarian village of Katunitsa, near Plovdiv, broke out Friday night, following the death of a 19-year-old ethnic Bulgarian local, Angel Petrov, who had been run over by a vehicle driven by a man linked to the local Roma clan leader.

According to Focus Information Agency:

127 people were arrested in the southern village of Katunitsa where Bulgarian and Roma communities entered into clashes, following a fatal road accident involving relatives of a Roma boss - Kiril Rashkov, dubbed Tsar Kiro. The arrested were indicted for vandalism, arson and numerous other offences.

The clashes involving some 2,000 people started when relatives of a teenager who was run over by a Rashkov family vehicle attacked the Roma patriarch's home. Another person died and five others were injured.

Three policemen and two civilians were hurt in the riots, while a 16-year-old at the scene who suffered from heart problems was taken to hospital, where he later died. […]

Online responses to the riots reflect very well the dangerous tensions on the ground.

On Facebook, there is a page [bg] demanding death to the Roma boss Kiril Rashkov (”An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.)” - and more than 23,000 people appear to “like” this cause.

One of the page members wrote:

We are Bulgarians, we are in Bulgaria - enough of this torment! In our own country we feel as foreigners! They want war? We will give them war!

Another Facebook page [bg] has been created in support of the ethnic Bulgarian rioters arrested in Katunitsa - as of now, 41,001 people have “liked” this page.

Riot police in the village of Katunitsa. Photo by Georgi Kozhuharov/Dnevnik.bg, used with permission.

Hot debates are taking place elsewhere on Facebook as well. On the Anti-Racism Movement in Bulgaria page, people have reported more than ten pages and groups with hate-speech content. One member of the Anti-Racism Movement wrote [bg]:

Racism is awful because of the association of ethnicity with crime. There is a proverb saying “Because of our Elijah, I started to hate Saint Elijah” [”Pokrai nash Iliq namrazih i Sveti Iliq.”] Rashkov (Tzar Kiro) is one of the many criminals and traffickers in Bulgaria and he uses the ethnicity trump card without a second thought. If the authorities take care of this kind of criminals by legal means then this will reduce many times the ethnicity tensions, which are created by the same criminals to affirm their control over the given minority.

One of the places where people are organizing protests against the Roma people is the Facebook fan page [bg] of the football team “Botev” (Plovdiv). One of the fan group's members wrote this [bg]:

The dirty Roma scum must be cleaned!

On the Bulgarian blog Bai Dalai [bg], the author wrote another opinion:

It is easy to see that this is an uprising against the painful social injustices, against the fact that the authorities are protecting the rich criminals but they are unable to provide basic security for the common people.

On Twitter, @lazarov (Alexei Lazarov) wrote [bg]:

Racial clashes in Katunitsa, Putin will run for president again - time sometimes seems to be moving backwards.

Bulgaria: Meeting to Support Palestine's UN Bid

Ruslan Trad — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:39:56 +0000

A silent meeting in support of Palestine's bid for a UN seat and independence took place in Sofia on Sep. 20, organized by the Bulgarian-Palestinian Association for Friendship and Development. There was coverage by Press TV and here are photos from the event on Facebook (Bulgaria to support independent Palestine in UN).

Bulgaria: Ruling Party Uses Children's Holiday Posters in Election Campaign

Ruslan Trad — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 22:49:45 +0000

Bulgaria's ruling party GERB (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria) has been using children's holiday posters in the city of Plovdiv in their campaign for the upcoming Oct. 23 presidential election. This poster, posted in the Facebook group of the left-wing Solidarna Bulgaria (Solidarity Bulgaria), shows how the ruling party has been campaigning in violation of the Bulgarian laws, which prohibit the use of propaganda in schools, universities and other public places for children.

Bulgaria: Mapping Crime and Electoral Violations

Ruslan Trad — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:16:19 +0000

Bulgarian blogger Boyan Yurukov has set up Bulgaria's first Ushahidi-based site, Crime.bg, whose goal is to collect signals of crimes and irregularities, via the site itself as well as through mobile applications, Twitter and Facebook. On his blog, Yurukov explained the reasons [bg] for creating Crime.bg: “1. People's lack of trust in police; and 2. Lack of open public data on crime rates in Bulgaria.” Crime.bg has inspired other activists in Bulgaria to use Ushahidi: e.g., Izboren Kodeks (”Election Code”), a web initiative to track violations in the electoral process.

Bulgaria: E-Book On Internet and Mobile Tracking

Ruslan Trad — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 22:06:45 +0000

Bulgarian blogger and Internet activist Bogomil Shopov allows to download his latest e-book [bg; .pdf], which is about Internet tracking in Bulgaria and ways to avoid it. The e-book is 13 pages long and covers legal aspects of the monitoring, explains how the state is tracking Internet and mobile phone users and how to oppose it legally, and supplies examples of the actual use of the data collected on the individuals.

Bulgaria: Soviet Army Monument “Keeps Pace With Time”

Ruslan Trad — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 13:07:22 +0000

Bulgarian blogger Peio Popov posted photos [bg] of the Soviet Army monument in Sofia, parts of which have been “updated” by unknown street artists to resemble heroes of American comic books, as well as Santa Claus and Ronald McDonald. Bulgarian newspaper Sega (”Now”) reports [bg] that Sofia city authorities are investigating the incident and intend to clean the monument eventually.

Bulgaria: Right-Wing Group and Muslims Clash in Sofia

Ruslan Trad — Fri, 20 May 2011 20:26:48 +0000

Violent clashes erupted between sympathizers of the nationalist Ataka (The Attack) party and local Muslims at the Bania Basha mosque in the center of Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, during today's nationalist demonstrations against the mosque's loudspeakers.

Right from the start of the preparations, one person from the nationalist camp pulled out a Turkish fez and cut it up in front of some 150 Ataka sympathizers and 200 praying Muslims. Tensions between the two groups escalated after Ataka sympathizers tried to put a loudspeaker over the mosque's toilet.

During the clashes, many people were injured, including a Muslim man with a fractured skull. According to Volen Siderov, the leader of Ataka, one of the party's MPs – Denitza Gedjeva - was also injured after a stone hit her jaw and she was rushed to the city's main hospital, Pirogov. Three more of the injured were accepted into the hospital's emergency room, but all, including Gedjeva, were later released for home treatment.

Medical teams arrived at the scene to examine and treat the injured. Three Ataka sympathizers were arrested.

Representatives of Ataka were throwing stones, fruit, eggs, sheets of metal and pieces of wood at the Muslims, who responded by applauding their attackers. There are many reactions on Twitter [bg, en]:

@gospodin_i:

They are beating Jehovah's Witnesses, beating Muslims. I want to ask: who's next?

@ruslantrad:

Muslim lying on the ground with a broken head after clashes in Sofia http://twitpic.com/502vuo

@ruslantrad: Muslim lying on the ground with a broken head after clashes in Sofia http://twitpic.com/502vuo

@ruslantrad:

Open letter from the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee to all media outlets in Bulgaria about clashes between right-wing activists and Muslims http://bit.ly/iGL4B2

@nervnata:

Will they be arrested for hate speech and racism attacks?

@ruslantrad:

Right-wing activists are burning prayer mats in front of the mosque in Sofia http://twitpic.com/502wu4

@ruslantrad: Right-wing activists are burning prayer mats in front of the mosque in Sofia http://twitpic.com/502wu4

Some Facebook reactions in Supporting Immigrants Rights in Bulgaria group:

Dafar Shaban:

Sadly, he [Siderov] is taking more and more dangerous actions, and he's turning from a poser into an actor in this situation, while the political scene is becoming a place of religious intolerance.

Trayana Kaleycheva:

We have to organize an event in defense of the Bulgarian Muslims! Today or tomorrow, we have to react to this madness!

Vida Delcheva:

This is a disgrace! It's amazing how far these pathetic bigots can go. They're putting the whole nation to shame in the worst possible way.

Dimitar Vesselinov:

Sickderov [a nickname for Siderov] is scum, a provocateur who abuses his support and his power to divert people's attention.

Akyra Mnoojak:

Seriously, who does that guy think he's representing? Obviously it's not just his fans, who are becoming fewer and fewer.

Bulgaria: Offering Shelter to Japanese Earthquake Victims

Ruslan Trad — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 19:54:53 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Japan Earthquake 2011.

The earthquake in Japan has become a tragedy for the entire world. This is evident from the willingness of people from different countries and continents to help the victims of the quake, which took the lives of thousands of people.

Bulgarians want to give shelter to the Japanese victims of the earthquake

A Facebook group created by Bulgarians willing to help those affected by the quake has been active in the past few days. It was started by a few people, but grew to over 900 members in a very short time.

Varsenia Stoyanova, a member of that group, wrote a message, proposing concrete ways to help by offering shelter to Japanese families:

Message to group members

All those who can help, please post a message, explaining what kind of shelter you would be ready to offer to Japanese people affected by the disaster – a room, a house, an apartment, a resort, a hotel, etc. This way we can create a list, which will be given to Mrs. Kristalina Georgieva and to the Japanese embassy.

Because the initiative aims at making clear that Bulgarians are willing to house Japanese people, please state how many people you would be able to accept, without any detailed descriptions of the property type and location.

There are over 50 comments under this post, discussing the issue of housing and clarifying how ordinary Bulgarians would be able to help.

Nina Karakasheva:

As I said before, the Japanese people have financial resources. The Bulgarian government should simply designate the places, the land where temporary constructions, trailers, mobile homes would be placed in order to shelter the people from Japan.
This problem should be resolved by the Bulgarian government, not by Bulgarian families. Currently, a quick, mass distribution of land for temporary housing is needed. These are people who need land, they have everything else a thousand times over, compared to the average Bulgarian families.

Varsenia Stoyanova:

Nina, we are the change. The politicians won't do it on their own. As for the group, the suggestions, etc., I think we should underline the severe crisis situation in Japan at the moment, so our intentions are made clear. Yes, we're still in the beginning, but at least we're making it clear that there are people who are willing to help.

Siyana Ignatova:

We can offer a house (for 6 people) in the Vodolei village in Veliko Tarnovo region, as well as an apartment for two in a holiday resort near Balchik [a Bulgarian Black Sea resort].

Sania Koprindzhiyska:

I can offer a house in the city of Alfatar, Silistra region [a Northern Bulgarian city]. It has a yard, a large garden and garage. The house is equipped with every necessity, it's big, in very good condition and able to house a large family.

Vladimir Todorov:

Dear friends, let's show our readiness to help those in need, without any selfishness, because our cause is noble and human. God help them and us!!!

Varsenia Stoyanova:

So far, 43 Bulgarians have offered shelter to over 200 Japanese people without compensation!!

Here is a video, created by users in the Facebook group, about Japan and the need to help:
In Facebook as well as in YouTube.

Bulgarians started a petition at Change.org, requesting that more people offer help. It has so far been signed by over 400 people. Messages drawing attention to the issue have also been spreading through Twitter:

@norrche:

Bulgarian aid for Japan – everyone can help http://bg.kolektiva.net/sofia/extra/dari-na-zhertvite-na-sendaj-zemetresenieto-japan.html

@apteki_framar:

The Bulgarian Red Cross has been inundated with offers for help to Japan http://bit.ly/gcYqeT

@NewsMixerBG:

Bulgaria is sending blankets, not firefighters to Japan: Bulgaria is sending blankets as humanitarian aid […]

@svetulchica:

Help for Japan: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=207511772594419&notif_t=event_invite

This post is part of our special coverage Japan Earthquake 2011.

Bulgaria: Bloggers Discuss the Soviet Army Monument in Sofia

Ruslan Trad — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 00:45:58 +0000

Photo by Ivan Ivanov, Wikimedia Commons

The Soviet Army Monument in Sofia was built in 1954, in honor of the victory over the Nazis in World War II. Today, this monument is the subject of dispute between left- and right-wing political groups. Recently, a group of right-wing activists started a discussion in the Bulgarian society whether the Monument should be demolished or not.

Bulgarian blog DeCommunization wrote:

[…] Who are we? Where do we come from? Where do we want to go? How do we get there?? This is actually one single question: “What do we want”? […]
[…] Everything started with a monument of an army that no longer exists. A country that no longer exists. Or maybe it does. Maybe a new version of that country. Masked and hidden. How else would it have so many apologists? How can something nonexistent be able to mobilize so much human energy every time we attempt to answer difficult questions? No, we can't move forward unless we look back. […]

And some more from DeCommunization:

[…] Why I want the monument of the occupying Soviet army to be moved to the Museum of Totalitarian Art

I appeal again to all of you who hold ‘Red' feelings and sympathies. There's a monument in the city of Varna for all the fallen Soviet soldiers, who gave their lives for the freedom of Bulgaria. On it, there are written dozens of names and titles. As a teenager, I wondered how and where these soldiers died, when there weren't any battles in our region, nor across the country. Older adults said that many soldiers from the Red Army have paid with their lives for their thefts, murders, arsons, rapes. At the time, infected by the Communist propaganda, young and inexperienced, I didn't believe this was possible. But today, with a lot more knowledge and experience, I can categorically state that the Red Army monuments are monuments praising killers, robbers, arsonists, rapists and other criminals. They did not die “for the freedom of Bulgaria,” but were killed without trial, next to a wall or a tree, by their own regiments, which sought to restrict some of these barbaric excesses by poorly educated and uncultured savages. […]

A Bulgarian historian and lecturer of Political Sciences, Antoniy Todorov, wrote this on his blog:

[…] This debate is actually nothing new, there were already several initiatives to demolish the monument, but all governments since 1989 have refrained from doing so, moreover, Russia has always made it clear that this would be considered an offense.

Both sides have strong arguments. Therefore, the question is political, and its resolution will also be political, regardless of what it is. This means that it's not enough to simply take a side in the discussion (we can assume that both sides have a case). It's a political decision in the sense that it has to fit within the prioritized issues that we consider particularly important for our entire community. […]

[…] So what about Bulgaria? The main question here is: are we committed to honoring the Day of Victory over Nazism, or not? The answer is not an easy one, and it's essentially a choice of civilizational belonging. […]

Nikolay Sisoev, a Johannesburg-based Bulgarian, commented on the Soviet Army Monument in Sofia on his blog, Truden:

[…] Bulgarians have always been cheering for their future and booing at their past.
Thing are pretty much the same with our most recent and “most democratic” history – the years of our past have gotten quite a lot of boos… None more so than a certain 45-year period. During these 45 years, we have been allied with those who liberated Bulgaria from the Ottoman rule, and Europe - from the fascist dictatorship. For the first feat, grateful Bulgaria raised monuments in their honor.
The second feat was honored the same way. Today, however, it appears that the 20 million Russians who died, do not deserve a monument in Sofia, even in Bulgaria. […] Why? Well, because we are now Democrats, and those who died on the battlefield against fascism were communists. […]

In his personal blog, Ivo Indzev, a prominent journalist who is known for his anti-Soviet stance, wrote:

[…] For the umpteenth time, let me remind the hesitant among us what exactly this monument represents. It demonstrates the Russian imperial hegemony over Bulgaria! It is not even a monument to Communism, much less to the left-wing ideals. It's not a monument of the Soviet Union either, though it carries the name of the Soviet Army. If it was a monument to the Soviet Union, the idea of demolishing it would rile up all the former republics that “equally” constituted the union. Can you imagine Estonia sending a note to Bulgaria to preserve the monument? That sounds like a joke (although a note from Russia is not a joke at all). […]

Pavel Yanchev, another Bulgarian blogger, wrote:

[…] The Soviet Army Monument is neither a Roman amphitheater, nor the house of a wealthy business family from the '20s. It was built (and designed by pretty good architects, by the way) to perpetuate the idea of some nonexistent happiness and joy, and it is pure communist propaganda, which aims to strengthen the local regime and its ideology. However, before we decide to just demolish the monument, we should remember about the incident with Georgi Dimitrov's mausoleum in 1998. We removed a building that no longer served a purpose, other than to personify a totalitarian regime, but we didn't think what to put in its place. Destroying the building took more time than it took to build it. The decision to destroy it was made with a similar totalitarian swing - without asking anyone, not even the citizens of the city. […]

Muiiio, a popular blogger, shared his opinion about Bulgaria's Soviet past:

[…] Hmm… let's tear down all the buildings from the Bulgarian Renaissance, because they are monuments of the Ottoman domination! Let's just eradicate any memories and symbols of our land's past, because it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Or should we leave just the beautiful memories?

Let's ask the question: who will we give the hard task to choose what's “good” and what isn't, and what's going to be destroyed next - the Soviet Army Monument, or the Central Bathhouse?

To those who believe that a monument in memory of the Soviet Army desecrates the center of Sofia today (and/or the Bulgarian people as a whole), let's put in a new plate, well-illuminated, with large letters, telling the story behind the creation of the monument, as well as all the symbols that appear on it. Let's build a museum around the monument – this isn't just an important part of our history, but an interesting thing for many people who haven't seen it before; I'm not just talking about foreigners, but also people from my generation, as well as those younger than me. […]