Protesters attempted to storm the Bulgarian parliament and clashed with police during a large rally against pandemic restrictions in central Sofia.
Today Bulgarians ???????? stood up against mandatory vaccination!pic.twitter.com/9QnRCYLMuh
— Based Serbia (@SerbiaBased) January 12, 2022
The spirits rose about an hour after 3,000 people gathered outside parliament. Their demand was to abolish the compulsory health certificate which, they claim, violates their rights and indirectly forces citizens to be vaccinated.
The crowd, many of whom arrived by bus in the city center, broke the police cordon around the parliament and reached the main gate of the building. They did not come in but asked the deputies to come out and listen to their demands. Many people, including police officers, were injured in the previous minor incidents.
Holding Bulgarian flags and banners of the supranationalist Renaissance party, which organized the rally, protesters shouted “Freedom” and “Mafia” and denounced all measures taken to deal with the pandemic.
“I do not approve of green certificates. I do not approve of children not being allowed to attend classes. “I do not see the point of this,” 39-year-old engineer Asparuh Mitov told Reuters.
Bulgarians must wear masks indoors and on public transport and show a health certificate (obtained by those who have been vaccinated, recovered or tested negative) to enter restaurants, cafes, shopping malls and gyms.
The Prime Minister Kirill Petkov, who took office last month and vowed to push for vaccination, told BTV he regretted not meeting with protesters but was ready to do so on Friday, when the quarantine he was given ended. Petkov, President Rumen Radev and government ministers were quarantined for being close contacts of a positive case.
The Prime Minister reiterated that the health pass will not be abolished.
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