A petition against the deployment of the American tanker planes at the nearby airbase has begun in the village of Bezmer, Mayor Rosen Rusev told BTA. According to him, people want to express their disagreement, and are also ready for protest actions. Several more villages have expressed their willingness to join the petition. The intention is to hand it over to the Minister of Defense during his visit to the region, which is expected this Friday.
The petition was organized at the initiative of residents of the village, who after the latest information about the purpose of the planes have requested that the position of the local community be officially expressed. “There is no specific initiator, this is at the request of a large part of the residents. They said: "Aren't we going to react to the situation we're in right now," said Mayor Rosen Rusev.
According to him, until yesterday, many people had not been sufficiently informed about the purpose of the deployment of the planes. "After it became clear that they would most likely serve the conflict with Iran, they expressed their strong disagreement and asked us to provide an opportunity for them to state their position," said Rusev.
According to him, protest actions are not ruled out. "People are watching what is happening in Ukraine, they know that in such military conflicts, civilians are often injured, it is not always only military facilities that are hit and there are such concerns," said Rusev.
He noted that the time until the expected decision is too short and the proposal will probably be approved by the National Assembly today. “Regardless of this, the residents want to express their opinion and subsequently submit the petition to the Ministry of Defense. It is very possible that the authorities will realize that a large part of the population does not agree with this decision“, said the mayor.
The mayor announced that he had not received an official invitation to the meeting of the Minister of Defense with mayors from Yambol region, but he intends to make an attempt to attend. “I will inquire about the meeting and with or without an invitation I will try to attend. The least I can do is show that a large part of the population of Bezmer is worried about this decision. People believe that there is a risk to their security“, he said.
Rusev added that the initiative is already receiving support from other settlements in Tundzha municipality and the region. According to him, the mayors of Kozarevo, Malomir and Bolyarsko have expressed their willingness for their residents to also join the petition, and it is possible that other settlements will also join it.