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Why were the provocateurs admitted with dangerous means into the “Triangle of Power”? Why have the health and lives of police officers and citizens been threatened for a long time by the unflappable actions of provocateurs and is there any information about who these people are? Were they organized, who sent them? Why did the police continue to use violence against citizens, most of whom have nothing to do with the provocateurs? Why journalists were beaten when they repeatedly identified themselves and did not provoke.
These questions were addressed by President Rumen Radev to the Chief Secretary of the Interior Ministry, Ivaylo Ivanov, to the Director of the Interior Ministry, Georgi Hadjiev, and to the President of SANS, Dimitar Georgiev, at a working meeting on the occasion of the incessant protests. .
There are cadres of police officers who use prohibited and unregulated means, such as boxes. I am awaiting an answer on whether there are established responsible persons and disciplinary sanctions regarding the beating of the student Evgeni Marchev. I personally visited him in “Pirogov”, he was quite blue. There are questions and circumstances about the uniforms of the employees of the Interior Ministry: if some emblems that send provocative messages are regulated and how, added the president.
On September 2, Bulgaria experienced a day of violence. “I am extremely concerned for the health of both ordinary citizens and the dozens of injured police officers who carried out the orders of their superiors,” he told his interlocutors.
The Chief Secretary of the Interior Ministry, Ivaylo Ivanov, said he was unable to answer a large part of the questions asked because pre-trial proceedings were being carried out and there was no authorization from supervising prosecutors, as well as because there was classified information.
When asked why brutal force was used against the protesters, I would ask why the protesters used brutal force against the police officers, who did not provoke them in any way. Should a policeman standing on a cordon be brutally attacked? He asked rhetorically.
Ivanov again asserted that the Bulgarian police do not protect individuals or parties, but protect institutions. According to him, all the actions of the Ministry of the Interior have shown that the police do not take sides. “We have explained thousands of times that masks and shields are protective equipment, they cannot be used. I have also heard a lot about the water cannon and I want to say that it has not been used, it has been prepared many times, but it is not used “, said. The secretary general.
“I do not know if it is appropriate to say what my colleagues were subjected to on the morning of September 2: hit them with Bulgarian flags, shove them with wooden sticks, throw them, with apologies, in the groin. The police feel that they are not robots. In the morning I was with Minister Terziiski in the hospital to see the wounded comrades. If you want, believe me, but I can tell you that one of the comrades has serious injuries to the groin caused by the dropped bombs, “Ivanov stressed.
He does not agree with the accusations that the police used violence against the protesters because there were children in the cordons who had to return at night “to see their relatives. They are not interested in politics, they are complying with your duty “. – that’s how they raise and train us. “The general secretary also said that he had never tolerated abuse of power by law enforcement and that controls would be carried out, but” should we shoot these people? ”
Ivanov flatly denied the allegations of use of force by officials. “Should the police be afraid to do their job? When there are signs of abuse of rights by a police officer, we carry out the appropriate controls. Not all services are perfect, I understand them, but I do not justify them. It was 12 hours. on foot, and for 12 hours they were beaten with the Bulgarian flag, beaten in the groin and spread straw to set it on fire, so that later someone would have exceeded their authority ”, he explained.
The Secretary General added that he is often asked why the Interior Ministry allows blockades. “We only had one protest request, everything else was illegal. No force was used every time we retired the camps. Images were shown in which a large number of protesters cleaned a small part of the things that were there. “In the morning, the protesters had consumed a large amount of alcohol, but no force was used,” Ivanov said.
According to him, when the tent camp in Orlov Most was removed, the police asked the people who these tents belonged to so that they could return them, but the answer was that they did not know and only lived there.
The actions of the police on the night of the “Grand National Assembly” were described by the Secretary General as “a perfectly planned and executed operation with minimal damage. Otherwise, there could have been blood under your (the President’s) windows, of the National Assembly, of the Council of Ministers. Their actions prevented this blood, they performed perfectly. ”
The secretary general said that when he saw protesters throw eggs and tomatoes at the Interior Ministry building and his colleagues, he felt as if he were there. “Should I go measure them?” He asked rhetorically.
Ivaylo Ivanov commented on the journalists attacked as follows:
“The press card does not give immunity to anyone. When a journalist fulfills his duties, he is protected; just because you are a journalist does not mean that you have to break and beat the police, that you have to commit other crimes. If someone has a journalist card and bomb, yes, he will be arrested, they say “they would beat me,” I mean, the police used physical force that the law allows, they say “they used a stick,” I mean, the stick is a help.
The chief secretary explained again which spray the law enforcement officers used during the September 2 protest. According to him, the police used hot spray and the protesters used gas because the police forgave them as much as possible.
He added that he avoids watching television to rest from the “hate” – “we were Janissaries, we were idiots. No. We are people, most of us are much more educated and better educated than most.” of those who accuse us, “Ivanov said, adding that only the criminal genius of the accusers is better than the police.
Ivanov stressed that there is a limit that must not be exceeded and gave an example with the Molotov cocktails found: You know what the damage would be if one of these “peaceful protesters” had thrown a cocktail and burned 4-5 policemen. We are used to being cursed, but we don’t want to be bombarded and beaten.
He congratulated the police for their actions and added that he was concerned when the operation began. According to him, the protest on September 2 was different, because it was repeatedly called on all social networks and microphones for the protest to bleed.
Regarding the fact that the provocateurs were not neutralized, Ivanov explained that checkpoints were made, but not everywhere, because “this is not a corridor, but a place that can be reached from many places. If we do checkpoints, They will accuse us, that we restrict the right to free movement. ”
In his response to the president, the secretary general added that if the Interior Ministry had known who the provocateurs were, it would not have tolerated it, and that they were certainly organized because there was “so much malice and aggression against the police.” I am not saying that we acted perfectly, but we certainly did not give orders for them to hit people, ”he emphasized.
“If there are police officers who have exceeded their rights, they will suffer the consequences. When the peaceful protesters saw that the tension was rising, why didn’t they leave? What were the people waiting for? Take off our helmets and shields when bombs were thrown at us? ” It is an attack and a death threat, bombs are a dangerous tool for many, and we classify it as vandalism, ”said the Secretary General.
For his part, the president replied that he understood Ivanov’s pain, but did not understand his questions. “The actions of the Ministry of the Interior and the services are extremely important for maintaining civil peace and for Bulgaria’s reputation abroad. I am equally concerned about the police and the protesters. The question is why there is violence on both sides. The police lasted a long time. of the bomb attack. ”
SANS President Dimitar Georgiev also spoke at the meeting and made it clear that if there were specific information about the provocateurs, they would have neutralized them. Georgiev also reiterated Ivanov’s words that he was unable to provide specific information on all issues due to the pre-trial process.
“If the police had withdrawn and if they had broken into and broke into the National Assembly building, the question would have been why did the police allow it,” he added.
SDVR Director Georgi Hadjiev explained why the police remained passive for an hour while shelling them:
“From a purely technical point of view, the operational services on the ground decided that it was better to be passive, and then as soon as the group of 700-800 people, who were extremely aggressive and looking for a confrontation, formed to expel them for power In the event of a mass riot, there are victims on both sides. It should be clear that the Bulgarian police cannot be insulted, these people have families, we are passive because we seek balance, like the protesters and counter-protesters. ”
At the end of the meeting, President Rumen Radev said that he expected the services to operate in a much more active and synchronized manner. He asked SANS to facilitate the work of the police so that these people can be neutralized. “I cannot in any way interfere in their methods, it is extremely important how our society will develop, because public trust is required. I also condemn violence against the police, but I do not agree with the police beating innocent citizens, this gives a severe blow to the moral foundations of society. ”
