Comment by Emi Baruch:
In his business card, the mayor of the Sofia district “Ilinden” wrote: “I will work for a city that takes care of people and serves as an example to other cities, as befits a European capital“. For those who don't know: the mayor of the “Ilinden” district is called Emil Branchevski. He is a doctor by profession. He specialized in human medicine, and his personal cause - as he himself stated in his business card - is “the popularization of a healthy lifestyle and sports among adolescents and the prevention of aggression among young people”.
The humanist-politician burst into the public eye after, in his capacity as district mayor, he ordered the demolition of illegal buildings in the Roma neighborhood of the “Zaharna Fabrika” neighborhood. This happened at dawn on April 15, with a heavy police presence and in the company of a water cannon.
Promises that were not kept
On the same day, Dr. Emil Branchevski declared that “there would be no people in need”. That even before dark - all those who were left homeless would be accommodated in the crisis centers of the Sofia Municipality. He also stated that there was no tension in the demolition of the buildings and that the municipality was “assisting” the families “to collect their belongings”.
These assurances, as well as further statements by Mr. Branchevski, turned out to be false. They do not correspond to the truth and his statements in a position to the media, which were presented immediately after the pogrom, namely: that “all offers of accommodation were made to the affected themselves”. Conversations with the people left homeless refuted this.
“We do not want these people”
Branchevski also wrote that there were no attempts by the “Ilinden” district to “export the problem” to other districts. With the immediate reactions of the district mayors of “Kremikovtsi”, “Krasna Polyana” and “Lyulin” these words were also refuted. Lilia Donkova, Dimitar Petrov, and Georgi Todorov unanimously and quite intolerantly and inhumanly as for European Bulgaria stated - “we do not want these people”.
The mayor of “Ilinden” did not comply with the interim measure of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which obliged the Bulgarian state not to demolish the neighborhood in “Zaharna Fabrika”. What's more - the mayor seemed to try to “feint” it - first there were rumors that he had not received such an order, then that it was written in incomprehensible French, and finally that its interpretation did not contradict the measures he had taken. Understand - the decision to demolish the “dangerous dwellings” was correct.
People without a roof over their heads also dropped out of the news
More than a month has passed since then - a time in which many things happened, including a transport blockade of Sofia and various scandals in parliament. Along with the flurry of world and local events, the families who continue to live under cardboard roofs dropped out of the news.
But not from the priorities of “their” mayor. A few days ago, Emil Branchevski, together with Carlos Contrera from VMRO and Ivan Videlov from BSP, signed a draft resolution to the Sofia Municipal Council proposing that the municipality purchase one-way plane tickets to Strasbourg for people affected by the removal of illegal buildings.
Open provocation
In other words: to leave and not return! One-way - as time moves: past, and then future. However, the scheme of the mayor and his associates clearly does not foresee a future for these people.
Like some “old men” who unceremoniously dispose of themselves in “their own controlled environment”, the three wave their arrogant disregard for the European Court of Human Rights. And in a mocking tone they offer those evicted from the “Sugar Factory” neighborhood to be accommodated in tents near the European Court. This would “strengthen friendly relations between Sofia and Strasbourg“ and increase “the awareness of the local population about Bulgarian life and culture“.
These lines can be translated as follows: Gentlemen European bureaucrats! You do not know the kind of people you are protecting. You have poor imagination what kind of a mess they will create in front of your shiny portals if we send them to you. So… go away with your temporary measures!
They are looking for an escalation of tension
There is no other known case of Bulgaria not accepting a decision of the Court in Strasbourg. Violation of interim measures constitutes a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. However, this obviously does not interest the doctor, who specialized in human medicine, whose personal cause was supposedly to take care of people in a manner befitting a European capital.
It is clear to everyone that the submitted draft decision is a cocky provocation, the sole purpose of which is to exacerbate the political opposition in the Sofia Municipal Council. If the path of the money is traced, perhaps the answer to the question “Why?” will also become clear.
The Commission for Protection against Discrimination will rule on the submitted document after meetings on May 28.