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The Chief Commissioner of the Interior Ministry, Ivaylo Ivanov, and the head of SANS, Dimitar Georgiev, shake hands with President Rumen Radev at the beginning of the “Dondukov” meeting 2. PHOTO: PRESIDENT’S PRESIDENCY
Law enforcement officials insisted they did not protect parties or individuals
President Rumen Radev organized a confrontation with the chief secretary of the Interior Ministry, Ivaylo Ivanov, the head of the Interior Ministry, Georgi Hadjiev, and the president of SANS, Dimitar Georgiev.
He invited them on Friday afternoon to discuss the violence of the September 2 protest. And he left the media cameras in the room for the entire conversation.
“I am equally concerned about the police and the protesters,” Radev told police chiefs. He insisted that they answer him
because they were
permitted
provocateurs
in protest,
why violence was also used against citizens who were not aggressive, why journalists were harassed and why police officers used prohibited aids such as boxes.
There is no way to answer these questions in the presence of journalists, because the information is classified due to ongoing investigations, replied the Secretary General of the Interior Ministry, Ivaylo Ivanov.
“You ask why the police used force, and I would ask, why did the protesters exert brutal force on the police, since they did not provoke them,” he asked President Ivanov. He described how the policemen were shoved with wooden sticks, beaten with flags and even “squeezed in the groin where the cameras won’t shoot.” He met with two wounded police officers: one was seriously injured in the groin by the bombs and the other was almost left blind after a bomb exploded again in his hand.
“Until now, the Bulgarian police have never monitored people, parties, they do not guard an institution, we protect public order,” insisted the general secretary. He explained that no matter who was in power and who would come, the police would always be there to maintain order.
“Should?”
scare that like
rise to power,
will return for
me and my colleagues?
Should the police be afraid to do their job? Ivanov asked. He defended the actions of his teammates. He was adamant that they had avoided the bloodshed.
For the attacked journalists, Ivanov explained that the press card does not protect anyone when they are not there to perform their duties, but rather throws objects and pushes the policemen.
“You obviously didn’t understand what I was asking you. It’s up to you whether people will have the courage to make their demands.” People are waiting for answers. Do you know who these people are? Are there any detainees? “Radev insisted.
If we had the information that you think we should have, these people would have been neutralized, Dimitar Georgiev replied.
The Bulgarian policeman cannot be abused in this way. We were very passive, we did everything possible to maintain order, Hadjiev was categorical.
I expect punishments both for the provocateurs who rioted the protests and for the police officers who exceed their rights and beat innocent citizens, the president announced.
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