On Wednesday, the violence erupted as the anti-vaccine protesters clashed with the Bulgaria Police after they tried to storm the Parliament building.
The violent rally was reportedly organised by a nationalist group that is rigidly against the anti-COVID measures implemented by the Bulgarian government.
The protesters were prevented by heavy police from entering the Parliament in Sofia. According to the information, many were injured during the clash, including the police officials and protesters detained before the building was sealed off.
Many stubborn protesters remained in the front of the National Assembly and waved national flags and sung patriotic songs. They said they would stay at the square until their demands, including abolishing the face masks and vaccination, passes at the met, are not accepted by the government.
Ahead of the protest, the leader of the Vazrazhdane party, Kostadin Kostadinov, said, “This protest aims to remove the unconstitutional green certificate and the restrictive measures imposed by the government.”
However, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov has asked the demonstrators to calmly meet him at his office on Friday, where he will discuss their demands. He conveyed this message via the virtual meeting as he has been quarantined to follow the Covid-19 related rules in the country.
Bulgaria has been facing a new hike in the COVID cases, as it has only vaccinated a third of its population, which is the lowest rate in the European Union. The country has also reported the highest Covid-19 related deaths across the EU.
In the last 24 hours, the country notified 7,034 Covid-19 on Thursday. On 14 January, according to the official data, the total number of cases reported in the country was 806,977, and the number of people who succumbed to the virus was 31,922. Meanwhile, the number of the recovered ones was 632,583.
