One Friday, 13th Bulgarian Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski will never forget.
Last night, on the 92 day of the #Дансwithme protests in Bulgaria, the route from the Presidency to the Parliament was altered, as more than 200 people gathered in front of the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) building, where Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski was scheduled to give an interview for a political talk-show called “Panorama” at 21:00 EET.
The protesters managed to block all entry points to the building, seeking out answers from Mr. Oresharski regarding the most pressing questions: “Who appointed Delyan Peevski as the head of the National Security Agency?” (as a reminder, Mr. Peevski is 32 year old media mogul, who has been shown to have direct links to spheres of organized crime) and “Whose interests are you really serving Mr. Oresharski ?”; the now well-known chants of Resign, Goodbye, and Mafia were also directed towards the Prime Minister.
Oresharski only managed to enter the building after heavy involvement by the police.
While the interview was being conducted, Panorama aired a live feed of the protesters outside and host Boyko Vassilev asked “Who is responsible for the appointment of Delyan Peevski as head of DANS (National Security Agency). Prime Minister Oresharski answered that it was a “political” decision and a “mistake”. Furthermore, Oresharski warned that he is well aware of who the individuals involved in the protests are, yet assured they need not fear him.
As it turned out, it was he who was in fear as the interview ended around 21:30 and despite efforts by the police to disperse the protesters, there was still a heavy presence. According to opinions on Twitter and Facebook, Prime Minister Oresharski was ushered out of the building through a side exit, which is used as a rubbish clearance. This has been one of the more successful attempts at catching a glimpse at the increasingly media shy Oresharski and attempting a form of dialogue with him. Nonetheless and despite the chosen form of exit, Oresharski remains unshaken and has once more left the most important questions regarding the formation of Bulgaria’s political system pending.
Video by Ivan Bedrov
After the action, the Protest Network, the coordination body of the main groups against the government of Oresharski, issued a special statement, warning that all PMs collaborating with the mafia will have to leave via rubbish clearance exits.
