The protest of employees in forestry and hunting farms, which began at 10:00 a.m. at the pedestrian path on the main road E-79 through Kresna, has ended.
The protest was organized by the National Federation "Agriculture and Forestry" (NFZGS) to the Confederation of Labor (KT) "Podkrepa", supported by the Federation of Trade Union Organizations in the Forestry and Wood Processing Industry (FSOGSDP) to the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (KITUB).
After two hours of attempts to block traffic, tension in the municipal administration building in Kresna and civil disobedience, the protesters withdrew, but with the intention of continuing their protest actions. The press center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs informed BTA that two of the protesters were detained for disturbing public order. The chairwoman of the National Federation "Agriculture and Forestry" Anelia Ivanova told a BTA reporter that the detainees were the commandants of the protest – the chairwoman of the National Strike Committee of the KT "Podkrepa" Mario Ninov and the chairman of the strike committee of the NFZGS Pavel Cheriyski.
Ivanova said that the protesters are demanding a 30 percent increase in wages. She pointed out that the salaries of employees in forestry and hunting farms have not been increased since 2023. The people are also demanding an increase in financial resources for public activities carried out by state forestry and hunting farms. Ivanova added that they are addressing their demands to Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov and are asking for a meeting with him.
According to Anelia Ivanova, state-owned enterprises are at a loss, there is a collapse in the wood market, and the main income of the enterprises - over 90 percent - comes from there.
The protesters' demands are also for equipment for employees so that they can cope with forest protection activities - afforestation, fighting forest fires, etc. People are also demanding a change in the labor category, which would be equated with that of police officers and firefighters, since, according to representatives of the National Forestry and Fire Service, they are on the ground fighting poachers and forest fires.
The Kresna Municipality informed BTA that an application for holding the protest had been received, to which it responded with a proposal to hold the protest rally at “Kantarzhiev“ Square. The reasons of the Municipality of Kresna are that the rights and freedoms of other citizens will be violated - there is a risk of violating traffic safety, as the letter from the municipal administration states that there is no alternative route to and from Greece.
Nevertheless, the protesters tried to block traffic on the main road.
There was a strong police presence in the area and representatives of the gendarmerie, who thwarted the protesters' attempts to stop the movement of cars by crossing the main road at the traffic lights. The police and gendarmerie did not allow the protesters to remain on the roadway, but at every green signal for pedestrians, they briefly stopped the movement.
Tensions arose when the protesters decided to go to the municipal administration building, where they asked to talk to the mayor. In the lobby of the Kresna Municipality, Deputy Mayor Petar Petrov met with some of them and stated that the protest was permitted, but at a different location - Kantarzhiev Square.
This was followed by an order from Acting Mayor of the Municipality Petar Petrov, who banned the rally on the main road E-79 on the grounds that it was violating public order.
After the ban, the protest turned into civil disobedience, as people tried to close the road, but their intentions were thwarted by the police officers on site. This was followed by the protesters' refusal to leave the square in the center of Kresna, some of them sat on the ground and refused to move to the location indicated by the Kresna Municipality for the demonstration. The protest ended shortly after 12:00.