site.btaMinister Mitov Says There Is No Reason for Him to Resign

During a parliamentary hearing regarding police actions at Monday's protest in Sofia, Interior Minister Daniel Mitov said that there was no reason for him to resign. He noted that grounds for resignation could exist if an incident had occurred resulting in mass casualties or serious health problems, or if there were a debate over whether the police had used excessive force or violence.

"There is no ground for that in this case," he said. The protest did not end in violence or bloodshed, which, in his words, had been the goal of the provocateurs.

Mitov noted that among the leaders of the groups of provocateurs were individuals known to the police from previous protests and linked to specific political entities. He said that one of them was Velichie’s top-of-the-list candidate in Pazardzhik, identified as Y.M., while another, identified as Y. S, was known to the police from protest actions of the Morality, Unity, Honour (MECh) party. 

MECh leader Radostin Vasilev insisted that the claim about individuals connected to his party was untrue and that there was no supporter or member with those initials.

The Minister said that the march led by the protest organizers was unauthorized, as the Sofia Municipality had approved events only until 10 p.m. He added that the mayor of Sofia was not informed about the provocations caused by individuals who joined the march, because after 10 p.m. there was no longer an event that he had coordinated or authorized, and therefore he could not be notified.

Police forces regrouped after the start of the march, and specialized police units arrived when aggressive actions began, Mitov noted. In his words, no alerts identifying specific individuals as provocateurs were provided by the organizers.

The Interior Minister added that the demonstrators were operating in small groups of 30 to 40 people. The individuals who damaged municipal and private property have been recorded and the files have been submitted to the prosecution service, he added.