site.btaUPDATED Opposition Supporters Protest ahead of EC President’s Visit to VMZ Ordnance Plant
Supporters of the Vazrazhdane euro-sceptic, nationalist party staged a protest on Sunday in front of the VMZ ordnance plant in Sopot, Bulgaria’s largest state-owned defence factory and the largest armaments production facility in the country, ahead of a planned visit by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later in the day. The demonstration was joined later by Velichie party enthusiasts.
Vazrazhdane MP Angel Georgiev said the protesters sought to demonstrate to the EC President that she was not welcome in Bulgaria, as in their view she undermines the economies and values of EU member states. He argued that those in power in Bulgaria were turning the country into a testing ground for Euro-Atlantic forces, which, according to him, were prepared to use any means to wage indirect war against Russia.
The protesters also declared that they did not want Bulgaria to be drawn into the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and voiced concern that the country was being steered toward militarization.
Vazrazhdane Leader Kostadin Kostadinov told reporters in Sopot that gunpowder production is “dangerous and dirty work”, the future plant in Sopot will not have a guaranteed market, and the investment in it will not yield a return. Kostadinov rhetorically asked why Bulgaria does not invest in the production of computers or military electronics, adding that for Europe, our country is merely a “raw material appendage”.
Police presence around the VMZ facility was reinforced.
After Velichie joined the demonstration, its MP Kostadin Hadzhiiski said they disapprove of the support which the incumbents in Bulgaria get from the EU. Hadzhiiski told journalists that Ursula von der Leyen is not welcome in Bulgaria.
Commenting on a planned investment by German defence supplier Rheinmetall in two new military plants in Bulgaria, the lawmaker said it is good for the economy, but Velichie do not like the people who will be involved.
/KK, VE/
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