The start of the autumn political season in Bulgaria was given on September 2 with a sitting of the MPs from the 44^th National Assembly, strong public discontent and increased police presence. Citizens protesting against the country's government, demanding the resignation of the prime minister and chief prosecutor, staged a large-scale operation called the Grand National Uprising. There were escalating tensions, clashes between demonstrators and police, injured and detained.

The people who gathered for the protest at Independence square in the so-called “Triangle of power” in the capital Sofia were of all ages, and what brought them there was the desire to change the status quo in governing the country. Here is what participants in the 56^th day of anti-government protests shared in front of Radio Bulgaria:

According to Deya Yordanova, people feel oppressed by the incompetent governance of the country, corruption and "figureheads with fake diplomas" in power.

"I need a change," says Deya Yordanova. “I think that 56 days is an eloquent number of days for them to understand that they need to make room for new people with new ideas. It is not possible that there is no other alternative to a government which is so uneducated, so corrupt, so arrogant. If we accept that there is nothing else, it means that we have surrendered. We cannot give in to such a wording. There must be something better that the Bulgarian people can appoint”.

The demonstrators adamant that the government has been permanently discredited, both nationally and internationally.

"This government is already deprived of any essence," says Mr. Marchev said. “They cannot lie to an entire nation with proposals for a new constitution and a restart. Their only goal is to stay in power. The sovereign is the one who has to say what should be done, not them! They need to serve us, not vice versa. We are not their slaves."

"We do not want them to write a constitution”, Metodi Hristov says firmly. “They have played their part. They robbed the state, they sold it out piece by piece."

Next to him, another elderly gentleman, Eng. Raichinov, is also indignant because of the ruined factories and productions in the country, which, according to him, used to put Bulgaria in a much more prestigious place in economic terms in the past.

"I am a mechanical engineer, I have a doctorate in science and it is painful to me to watch how everything got destroyed," Engineer Raichinov explains to Radio Bulgaria. "I used to work in a factory opened by Tsar Ferdinand, which has now been destroyed. In the past 30 years, I have been watching how everything gets ruined, especially now in the last 10 years, when the mafia has made a state of its own. It is commanded by a person that I am unable to accept. I am here today because it is high time this mafia went away along with its government."

Silvia Serafimova lives in Finland and is a philosopher by education. What brought her to the protest in Sofia is her desire to live in a state governed by the rule of law:

"It is noteworthy that this is not even a theatre of the absurd, but a sketch of the absurd” Silvia Serafimova points out. “There are talented actors in the theatre who are dedicated to what they do, and here we see that everything has turned into a farce. I really hope that we have a better future for us, for our children, for our loved ones. I hope that we will have the opportunity, as in any European country, to live in a normal and lawful way, to fight for the underlying values that are fundamental."

Asked about what alternative she sees in the event of the resignation of the current government, Silvia Serafimova replies:

"In each change, the alternatives gradually crystallize. If a person struggles to uphold his and her civic values ​​and principles, there is always an alternative. For now, it is extremely important that we demonstrate our civic position. I think there are enough worthy people among us, even such personalities which we have not yet seen on the political scene, who will be able to present an adequate alternative for all of us as citizens of a state governed by the rule of law.”

English Rossitsa Petcova

Photos: Darina Grigorova