Hundreds Join Anti-Government Protest in Bulgaria

Demonstrators gathered in front the National Assembly in the city centre and then marched to the Ministers’ Palace, carrying posters that read: “Silence is golden, only if you’re a sheep”, “Hands off the Bulgarian Academy of Science”, and “Donations needed for a one way ticket out for [Finance Minister] Dyankov”.

“It’s the first time so many different organisations have come together to protest,” Dimitar Lenkov from the Bulgarian Medical Association told rally-goers.

The various groups have staged a number of separate rallies in the past, but today’s gathering was one of the rare occasions when they took to the streets together to express their discontent with government policy.

“Obviously education, healthcare and culture are not among the priorities of the current government. All these fields are underfinanced,” Stanimir Kisiov, a 22-year old student at Sofia University, told Balkan Insight.

Earlier this year, the centre-right government cut budget spending in order to curb its growing budget deficit. The fields of education, healthcare, science and film production were among those hit the hardest by the austerity measures.  

The current economic crisis has worsen the dire state of the healthcare sector, which is in need of urgent reform.

“If the state continues with this health policy, soon there will be no doctors. They’re leaving to go abroad and they’re not coming back,” Panayot Dimitrov, an anesthesiologist in a Sofia hospital, told Balkan Insight.

This year’s budget for the Bulgarian Academy of Science has been cut from around 75 million lev [€37 million] to 59 million lev [€29.5 million]. In addition, scientists fear that proposed changes to legislation could lead to the closure of the academy.

Funding for the film industry was cut to 9.1 million lev [€4.55 million] this year, compared to 12 million [€6 million] in 2009. Yesterday filmmakers warned that new amendments could further decrease funding and kill off the local film industry.

While the government is expecting a 3.6 per cent growth in the country's GDP next year, it intends to maintain strict budget discipline, and there is little indication that these sectors will be allocated more funding in 2011.