Series of protests in support of and against the government set to take place in Sofia in the next days

A series of protests in support of and against the government are set to take place on June 20 and 21 in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia and major cities in the country. The Ministry of Interior (MoI) has begun checking calls for an escalation of tensions at this week's planned protests. The MoI has received operational information and numerous reports of social media posts. The check will be carried out on the territory of the whole countryand aims to identify provocateurs.

At 6pm in Sofia, on June 20, the Justice for Everyone protest began under the slogan "March for a European Bulgaria".

The protest is being organized in front of the building of the Presidency because, according to the organisers, this is how they want to remind the President that these are the same people who came to the square two years ago.

According to the organisers' plans, once the protesters gather in front of the Presidency, they are expected to march to the National Assembly where they will rally with the protest in support of the government.

Some 11 notifications about upcoming protests on the “National Assembly” square in the period 21-23 June were received by Sofia Municipality in accordance with the requirements of the Law on Assemblies, Meetings and Manifestations.

Five of the notifications were submitted by associations and political parties - these are the political party "Yes Bulgaria", the Vazrazhdane, IMRO, "Tolerance" association and the national movement "Khan Kubrat". The remaining 6 were submitted by various individuals.

The stated objectives of the protest events are:

• against the replacement of Nikola Minchev from the post of Speaker of
  Parliament;
• in support of the government of PM Kiril Petkov;
• against the cabinet of PM Kiril Petkov and demanding the resignation of the government;
• for a European Bulgaria without mafia;
• against high fuel prices;
• for compensation for high energy prices;
• protection of the Bulgarian national interest in North Macedonia.