Bulgaria’s President seeks the resignation of government and chief prosecutor

BNT on July 11 broadcast the address to the people of the head of state, President Rumen Radev, requested by the Presidency under Article 52 of the Radio and Television Act.

The President accused the ruling party GERB of organising a rally in the immediate vicinity of the protest held outside the Presidency (July 10).

The anger is deep, it has been accumulated for years, it cannot be suppressed with fear, the head of state said.

Now that Bulgarians are in the square, Europe has no right to watch Bulgaria with eyes wide shut, he added.

The head of state demanded the resignation of the government and the chief prosecutor.

He called on law enforcement agencies not to escalate tensions and not to provoke the protesters.

The full text of the Presidents' address is available here:

Dear compatriots,

Yesterday was marked by mass protests that demanded the resignation of the government and the prosecutor general. The ruling party’s decision to organize a rally in its support in close proximity to the civil protest was a deliberate and unacceptable provocation against the civil peace. In the late hours of the day there were clashes between the protesters and the law enforcement bodies.

The prime minister’s attempts to hand over the responsibility for the public tension cannot delude anyone who is acquainted with the situation in Bulgaria. Corruption, fuelling fear, the prosecutors’ racketeering and inaction against robbery, the trampling on the presumption of innocence, suppressing the freedom of speech, the unscrupulous lies and the lack of rule of law are what the Bulgarians rose up against. The colleges of barristers in a lot of cities demand that changes be made in the Prosecutor’s Office.

Rage is deep, it has been mounting for years and cannot be suppressed by fear and power. The mafia-type of government made a lot of freedom-loving Bulgarians of all ages, irrespective of their political affiliations, press demands for rule of law and restoring fundamental human rights that have been systematically trampled in the past years.

Now that Bulgarians are in the square, Europe has no right to look at Bulgaria with eyes wide shut. The Union needs a democratic Bulgaria, Bulgaria of law, of principles and rules.

The way out of the current situation is one: resignation of the government and the prosecutor general. Violence and manipulation cannot restore the trust in the two institutions. Any delay pushes Bulgaria into a deadlock. Any stubbornness increases the risk of chaos. The attempts to retain power and the oligarchy’s gains by pitting the people against each other on the basis of their party affiliation, ethnic belonging or another feature are unacceptable and are doomed to failure. A national anti-mafia consensus is forming in the country. It unites millions of decent Bulgarians and is stronger than money, the media and the power holders’ administrative resources.

I call on the law-enforcement bodies to observe the law. I strongly believe that the policemen and the gendarmes will no longer allow to be used against their brothers and sisters.

I call on the protesters to avoid violence and not yield to provocations. Provocation is not the face of the peaceful protest, but the thousands of Bulgarians who today defend the rule-of-law country and Bulgaria’s future. Strength lies in truth, resolve and unity.

Thank you for the attention!