Protesters from the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) erected a wall of silence in response to uncomfortable questions from journalists at a rally in Shumen on the evening of December 9. At the call of their leader, Delian Peevski, who has been sanctioned for corruption by the US and the UK, DPS-New Start filled the square in front of the Shumen theater with several hundred protesters in support of the government. The people were brought in by organized transport from the municipalities governed by Peevski’s mayors – Nikola Kozlevo, Venets, Kaolinovo, and Varbitsa.
However, the protesters categorically refused to say where they had come from, and when asked who had brought them to Shumen, they simply walked away, a reporter for Za Istinata found. Most of the protesters remained silent even when asked the cliché question, “Why are you here?”
A group of women standing in the front row of the protest with “No to hatred” posters refused to say a word to a group of journalists. It was unclear whether the women were afraid or forbidden to speak to the media. Many of the protesters were gathered in similar silent groups, who arrived together from neighboring streets and left in the same way, brought by cars from neighboring municipalities.
Several young men broke the silence and said that they had come from Kaolinovo and had been organized by the municipality. Others admitted that they were from a village in Vurbitsa and had been brought to the protest in the local mayor’s car.
“We came in formation because we are a disciplined party,” commented Kaolinovo Mayor Nida Ahmedov, referring to a publication in Za Istinata (For the Truth) revealing that Peevski’s associates were leading people in formation to the protest in Shumen. “However, no one was brought there by force,” Ahmedov added.
Nida Ahmedov: Why, my friend, do you want him to resign?
“The DPS is protesting because we want clear rules. The laws say that whoever wins the elections governs,” said the mayor of Kaolinovo and deputy chairman of the DPS-New Beginning, Nida Ahmedov, explaining the protest of the people of Deliorman. It is unclear when and how Peevski won the elections with his 29 MPs, but the DPS is clearly convinced that they are the ones who govern the country. Now some people (the opposition) want to destroy the country for their own personal gain, Ahmedov complained. “Today, there are rallies like this all over Bulgaria, in 24 places across the country, to show that Bulgaria is not just about the yellow pavements, that 30-40 thousand people cannot determine our fate,” said the mayor of Kaolinovo.
And he was genuinely surprised that anyone would want the government to resign.
“They said they didn’t like the budget, we, the government, heard the voice of the people, we withdrew the budget, adjustments were made. Now what’s the problem? They said resignation. Why, damn it, why do you want this resignation? Because you’re not in charge, there are no poodles, no money,”
This is how Ahmedov explained the largest civil protests against the government. Peevski’s favorite phrase about “poodles and bundles of cash” has apparently become mandatory in the DPS lexicon, because the mayor of Kaolinovo repeated it several times in his speech. Ahmedov also explained that the DPS was “best prepared for elections” but did not want elections because stability was needed.
The people in the square responded by chanting “DPS.” Many of them held up posters reading “No to hatred,” “We want a European future for Bulgaria,” and “I support Delian Peevski,” which had been distributed to them by the organizers.
They haven’t seen Peevski, but they support him
When asked, “Have you seen Peevski?”, an elderly Turkish man holding a poster in support of Peevski replied that he had only seen him on television. The man found it difficult to explain why exactly he supported Peevski, so a young man came to his aid and explained with aplomb: “Because [Peevski] keeps his word!” “What word?” “He does what he says!” the young man said emphatically. It becomes clear in the conversation that he has come from the municipality of Nikola Kozlevo. When asked, “What has Peevski done for you in Kozlevo?”, the man replies emphatically, “Everything!” But he does not give a specific example of what “everything” means.
The protesters explain the slogan “No to hatred” just as vaguely. When asked, “Who hates you?”, a man holding a poster against hatred says, “Well, it’s not that anyone hates us, but we want peace.”
After 50 minutes of speeches and chants, the protesters left the same way they had come—in groups, to the cars parked in the neighboring streets that had brought them to the event. The protest was attended by the mayors of the DPS-New Start party from Kaolinovo, Nikola Kozlevo, Venets, and Varbitsa, the deputy mayor of Shumen, Beynur Ahmed, who is the municipal chairman of DPS-NN in Shumen, and the two deputies from Novo Nachalo, Hamid Hamid and Aysel Mustafova.
Parallel protest against the government
Nearby, about 50 people protested as part of the now traditional civil rallies against the government, which are held every evening at 6 p.m. in front of the Shumen municipality building. Unlike the DPS protesters, the Shumen residents who want the government to resign are not organized by a party but gather on social media.
“There are few of us today because people were frightened by warnings of expected provocations,” said Georgi Moiseev, who is in the square every evening. “But tomorrow there will be many more of us,” said the protesters, who will support the large national protest against the government, announced for December 10 at 6 p.m.
The two parallel protests in Shumen—for and against the government—ended without provocation or tension.
