TENSION IN THE VILLAGE OF GARMEN AFTER MASS FIGHT BETWEEN BULGARIANS AND ROMA PEOPLE (update)

The situation in the village of Garmen in Southwest Bulgaria remains tense after the mass fight between Bulgarian and Roma people on Friday, 23th of May.

Under the accompaniment of a patriotic music and large police presence, a second protest began at 8.00 a.m. on 25th of May. The protest is expected to be joined by football fans from the region and residents from the neighbouring towns Hadzhidimovo and Gotse Delchev.

There has been tensions between Bulgarians and Roma people in the municipality for years because of illegally built houses, frequent thefts of agricultural products and robberies of homes, for which the local residents blame the Roma people living in “Kremikovtsi” neighbourhood.

The Mayor of Garmen, Minka Kapitanova said that the protest should not be politicised, but a solution should be sought. In her view, the problem is social, because some of the Roma were integrated, while others are used only to obtain benefits. According to her, problems are caused by recently arrived Roma from Velingrad, Petrich and other municipalities.

The participants in the protest demand the Mayor to undertake some measures. They said they were prepared to demolish the illegally built Roma houses themselves.

A meeting at the office of the Governor of Blagoevgrad District was convened at 10.00 a.m. on 25th of May. The District Governor Bisser Mihailov, the Director of the Regional Directorate for Construction Control, 10 members of the protest group and the Mayor of Garmen, Minka Kapitanova discussed possible solutions to the problem with the illegally built houses in the Roma neighbourhood.

After the meeting it became clear that an opinion of the Directorate for National Construction Control is expected regarding the illegal buildings in the Roma neighbourhood of the village of Garmen.

In 2002, the land in the neighbourhood became municipal ownership. Three years later the Municpal Council authorized purchase of municipal-owned land through auctions.

So far 19 plots have been bought. The owners paid 1.10 BGN per square metre. Only one construction permit has been issued for building in the neighbourhood. The illegally built houses are 129 and 700 people live in them.

The Mayor of Garmen said that if the illegal buildings were demolished, the municipality was obliged to provide homes for the evicted residents. However, for the time being there is no place they can be accommodated. It is not yet clear whether or not the illegal buildings in the Roma neighbourhood will be demolished.