Attacking the people (final update)
Last night in Riga, a protest calling for new government elections turned violent after police attacked Latvian demonstrators. After the attacks, police claimed a few drunk men as their reason for violent reaction against the general protest.
Today, in Bulgaria — right now — the expected protest in Sofia has suddenly turned bloody as the Bulgarian government apparently manufactured a bomb threat to generate pretense for an attack on students and farmers.
UPDATE: The Bulgarian government is pretending the bomb threat came “from the internet” which is the thinnest of all possible veils. (Frankly, it’s an unmitigated crock of shit to be treated with the utmost skepticism and disdain. An evident lie.)
Using this alleged threat as an excuse to quash political demonstrations, the government ordered riot police to assault Bulgarian citizens in broad day light. Chemical tear gas mortars, nightstick batons as clubs, people slathered in red blood.
UPDATE 2: Demanding changes to the government and justice for the people ignored by parliament thousands of demonstrators resisted brutal, pre-emptive clashes by police for hours. And other protestors fought back, attacking police barricades and riot squads in retaliation.
Even after 70 arrests, hundreds of people maintained their presence on the parliamentary steps, despite the government crackdown, while large groups cut-off from the main area took their protest to the streets.
By evening, police continued to disrupt major streets and intersections, such as Tsarigradsko Shosse or Levski as the protest continued. After dark, reports indicate protesters have completed their demonstration and are voluntarily returning home.
Source: Angel-G.TV
UPDATE 3: With the protest completed, Bulgarian officials have fired up the spin machine to twist the perception of worldwide media. Mihail Mikov, the Interior Minister, spouts euphemisms of “moderate force” to describe the police beatings. He then goes on to blame students, farmers, and environmentalists as responsible for everything.
A classic script from the playbook of former-Communist parties: abject disregard for the rights of citizens, take any actions necessary to cling to power.
FINAL UPDATE: A second protest has been scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, 15 January 2009, until all imprisoned political demonstrators are released from detention by authorities.
A student was murdered in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. After a lack of action to protect the University area from such crimes, students previously protested the government but were essentially ignored by the government who dismissed the demonstrations as child’s play.
Farmers in Bulgaria have been pushing the government to obtain special EU funding, which collapsed under the weight of corruption within the government. As the Bulgarian farmers gathered from around the country into Sofia to protest government failure, the parliament simply recessed and fled the capital so as not to confront those farmers.
That same day, another political rally was held to protect Bulgarian forests from expanded construction work and deforestation. However, those seeking a change in environmental policy were equally ignored by the Parliament who left Sofia rather than be present for the protests, further fueling dissatisfaction.
The gas crisis and other local political factors led to a coalition of citizens groups all wanting to protest their government today, January 14th. Before the protest, police already warned of harsh reprocussions at the command of the government.
And now authorities are using an unconfirmed bomb threat as reason to beat Bulgarian citizens into submission for daring to criticize the powers that be.
Protest is a constitutional right in Bulgaria. Supposedly.
The Bulgarian Socialist Party is the reincarnation of the Soviet-era Communist party and has maintained virtual control over Bulgaria ever since the supposed democratization of the 1990s.
BSP is the equivalent of Romania’s PSD, the Social Democrat Party which is the euphemism of the Soviet-era Communist party in Romania (PCR) that has controlled most of the time since the 1989 revolution.
Is Romania watching our southern neighbors with any interest?
I believe Romanians should be contacting their politicians and demanding Bucureşti place pressure on Sofia to stop the violence against its people. The situation is too close to home, in a period where the situation could be reversed a year from now.
January 14th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
…and you believe everything you read on the Internet, yes?
I wonder if older folks than I might be reminiscing about 1989 about now…
January 14th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Well, duh! Teh intarwebz r ful ov geniuses.
January 14th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
I know I’m a nit-picker again, but if PSD is related to the communist-era PCR, so is PD-L. They both come from “Frontul Salvării Naţionale”, the organization founded on December 22, 1989 and led by second-level activists of the PCR. They split in 1991 in two parties: one lead by Iliescu (today’s PSD) and one lead by Petre Roman (today’s PDL).
About Bulgaria, for many Romanians it’s hard to believe that a country can be even more corrupt than ours. :-P
January 14th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Wow. I don’t follow the news, but corrupt or not, Bulgarians seem bad-ass. I wish we protested that much instead of just shrugging and letting the politicians have their way.
January 14th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Bogdan – I find some difference between PSD and PD-L, at a minimum it’s enough to draw a distinction between a splinter group and the direct heritage of PCR -> FSN -> PSD dynasty. Having expressed my view of the difference, I’ll agree that PD-L has seriously flawed genetics that bode poorly.
At the risk of being offensive (or worse: incorrect), I have no hesitation at all in saying Bulgaria seems a far less corrupt country than Romania, in my experience. Now, if we’re limiting our comments to politicians, then I’m in agreement with you 100%.
CO – The youth of Bulgaria are sick of the shit being shoved down their throats. I’m proud of them for standing up and hollering about it. Like you, I also wish Romanian youth would grow a spine and demand a better life for themselves instead of accepting what they’re given. Silence will get you nothing, except taken advantage of.
January 14th, 2009 at 11:50 pm
Hm. Contact our politicians you say? How do you propose we do that? We had uninominal elections a few months ago, but our MPs don’t have websites with their address posted. That shows how much they care about the people who elected them. I want a better life for myself and my girlfriend, and I’m going to take it, but I’ve given up hope that I’m ever going to find it in Romania. I’m done pissing against the wind.
January 15th, 2009 at 1:29 am
Actually, it’s the other way around, the splinter group was the one of Iliescu, PD-L being the direct descendant of FSN.
Anyway, what can the Romanian youth do to improve the Romanian politics? All the major parties have been in power and I can’t find one which was less corrupt. I didn’t go to vote because I know that in all the parties, most politicians are corrupt.
Most top politicians have some conflicts of interest. My guesstimate is that 95% of all the contracts for public works are won by companies having political links, one way or another. (usually, the company is owned by a politician or the friend of a politician, or, if it’s a multinational, they simply bribe the right man)
In today’s newspaper, there was a scheme about the contracts signed by mayor Negoiţă (mayor of Sector-3, PD-L): the contracts were always won by a company owned by a business partner of Prigoană (MP, PD-L) and the brother of Pirpiliu (also, MP, PD-L). The company simply gave the best bid. However, after the contract were signed, the mayor changed the contract to add some additional tasks, paying 2-3 times the value of the initial contract. We’re talking about a sum of around 50 million euro/year. The mayor defended himself by saying it’s 100% legal to change the contract and add additional tasks without bidding.
Should I revolt against the government? but the people just voted for them! and even if we make the government fall, whom do we put in power instead? Becali?
January 15th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
CO – Far be it from me to single out any one person and say you are the one who must stay and fight. I understand anyone who feels the lack of desire to participate in a system that’s rigged from the outset. I have definitely felt the same way myself after having spent my earlier paid professional years in politics only to become disillusioned disgusted. What I’ve eventually found is that humans are full of shit and political monkey business is rigged no matter where you go, and yet some people are held to account more than others and therefore — when you wish to avoid living as mere chattle — at some point you must pick your battle(s) to hold people around you to account.
This choice will continue to present itself during the course of your life, whether you desire it or not, wherever you are, whomever you associate with.
Bogdan – You’re going to have to exercise patience and keep working on me. My understanding remains PSD is the true heir to the throne while PD-L is the angry brother. However, having said that, you are continuing cause me to examine PD-L much closer than before as I’m forced to recognize it’s more distasteful than I’d previously found it (which has been distasteful to begin with). And I like that challenge to refine understanding.
What can Romanian youth do? First and foremost, they must decide to stop being passive slaves. Until they strap on a fresh pair of panties and man up, they will continue to play the role of the crying victim who is repeatedly run roughshod on. No one will save you but yourselves. Two generations ago, folks saw the sad and sick truth that waiting for exterior salvation leaves you in chains. You must decide to be confident. Decide to be bold. Decide to take a stand. Decide you will not wait for your master to stop his cruelty. Decide you will not be pushed around and bent over without some kind of fight.
Once you’ve gotten a spine, you must organize. Not wait around for someone else to gather the flock and guide them to the promised land as if some natural egomanic leader will drop from the sky to make everything easy for you. Self-organization of passionate people in defense of themselves is one of the greater forces throughout the human experience. There’s no microwave here; get to work.
Revolution is not off the table. It is, however, often impractical as a first choice and therefore a serious person generally doesn’t bandy it about as some logical extreme to dissuade himself from taking any action at all. Be mindful of its potential as a later tactic, yes, but get focused on what’s in front of you first. One may then find revolution unnecessary.
January 15th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
[...] « Attacking the people (final update) [...]
January 15th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
Hi, I am an admin for the http://www.feelfriendly.com site that allows people from out of Sofia / not able to come to protest, to do that online by simply staying on the site and/or giving opinions.
You could add to your post the sad fact that NOT ONE NATIONAL television dared to broadcast live what happened there – and the reason is a public secret. There were two channels, who are local who were broadcasting, untill ofcourse their reporters had some camera-police-clashes.
January 15th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Thank you, denitza. I’ve been talking with my anonymous friend about the lack of coverage, actually, and have suggested it very much appears there is some kind of media blackout in effect. I appreciate your noting the very same problem.
I look forward to any future revelations about whom ordered it, which media executives were responsible for complicity in enforcing the orders, and which particular journalist abandoned their professional duty by doing what they were told instead of covering the damn news.
Please update us all if there are more details or information about police attacks on cameras.
I’m sure you’re aware a blackout often indicates impending violence. If so, I hope you’ve got students with camcorders and video phones strategically placed on the street, in buildings, and on rooftops to capture the footage for the world.
Good luck in beautiful Sofia, easily one of my favorite cities. We’re proud of you for standing up!
January 15th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Congratulations to everyone, denitza, on carrying out your objectives today and not incurring further wrath from the authorities who seek to silence you.
January 15th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Maybe I’m an idealist, or maybe I’m just out of touch with reality, but somehow I can’t quite see this kind of media blackout happening in Romania these days. Granted, I haven’t watched TV myself in several years, and I have no idea what politics each Romanian station is stuck in the middle of, but I just don’t see it happening like that. I could see it all being reported with a heavy pro-government slant, yes, but I can’t see it going unreported.
Dunno, maybe it would just end up propaganda-fodder, anyway.
Either way, much love to our Bulgarian brothers and sisters for taking matters into their own hands.
January 15th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
I’m currently asking around about the legal rights of Bulgarians under detention as I do not know the fine points of the law. I can agree with your reaction, however, that this looks incredibly bad on it’s face. It smacks of the same communist show trials used in Bulgaria, Romania, and elsewhere. It’s repulsive.
For Romanian media, you can bet there remain strong political bedfellows (moreso than the already strong relations alleged elsewhere in Europe or North America). For just one example, the founder and leader of Partidul Conservator owns “newspapers Jurnalul Naţional and Gazeta Sporturilor and the TV stations Antena 1, Antena 2, Antena 3, Euforia Lifestyle TV, Antena Internaţional, GSP TV, GSP TV 2, GSP TV 3 and GSP TV 4.”
With a USD$400,000,000 war chest, self-confessions of repeated involvement in the Communist Party intelligence services, allegations and documentation as achieving rank of General within the SRI, and all these media weapons magically falling under his control, this one single man should convince you there is indeed a potential for blackout in Romania under the right circumstances.
In Bulgaria’s case, I got independent confirmation that TV channels were not reporting live news about the event at all. Unlike yesterday when everyone covered it. There’s no reason to believe anyone who might claim TV news would voluntarily consider major political demonstrations to be non-newsworthy. Particularly after a police crackdown.
Based on the information I have, it obviously looks exactly like major media outlets complied with government requests to not broadcast or even document events. denitza tells us that when a couple news cameras did show up, they were thwarted by police. Could be the same situation would happen in Romania. I don’t see any tough journalists or investigative reports in Romanian TV. Maybe someone else knows one and can point them out to me. As I recall, there was one single newspaper out of Brasov that kept a reputation for quality journalism.
January 15th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
@Narc – it was covered, bit it wasn’t a live broadcast – just reports. I can’t comment on Romanian TVs really. Honestly I myself don’t watch TV a lot, just the news occasionally, but until yesterday I was at least convinced there was some non-governmental spice involved in it (or at least in the ones with national coverage)… but hey – tough luck ;)
@ Romer!canWell, yesterday I was out to protest (today I had to go to work) and from where I was situated I couldn’t really pay attention to what has happened to the camera-people. There were cases of reporters having clashes with the police, but in general I think the focus is at the roots – simply the TV channels didn’t send people for live broadcasting, which made the police’s obligations a bit lighter.
The truth is the guys at the other end of the barriere a scared (the politicians I mean) and their support staff (obviously some media and the police) is doing what they are supposed to.
I can’t say it was a big protest and we are all sorry it had to lead to aggression (that was absolutely out of the plan). Still… we’ll see what happens.
On that site I mentioned, there are around 5000-6000 people protesting at any moment (some from work, some not in Sofia, some – not phisically able to protest offline). We actually created that site for about 30 hours prior the protests and this is the reason it looks so edgy (((: To be honest it was a brilliant experiment – a lot of the users are sharing really constructive ideas about what to do next [with the country, with the people, with the elections, with the ways we take a stand]
January 15th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
However, thanks for the moral support (: As one of our national icons has said : “All nations deserve their governments”
January 15th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Now replying to comments on newer post.
January 16th, 2009 at 12:08 am
Romerican, the Romanian TV stations wouldn’t ignore this kind of an issue. I think there is a quite big diversity. Today, the TV market is a bit different than it was four years ago: 80% of the viewers have either cable or digital satelite, so the power of the government, who can grant licenses for over-the-air frequencies is less relevant.
Nevertheless, four years ago, it was the danger that the biggest TV groups would be under the power of PSD:
TVR is the state-owned TV, therefore doing whatever the government wants, PROTV had huge debts and they were doing what the government wanted, to convince them to get a reschedule of the payments, Antena 1 was Voiculescu’s, who was an ally of the PSD and (IIRC) B1TV received some governmental money via some obscure ways.
This is why the 2004 anti-PSD vote was a good idea.