Bulgarians hold large anti-govt. rally
Press TV
The protest was called for by the social-democratic Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and held in Sofia's Alexander Batenberg square, Bulgarian Focus News Agency reported.
The protest comes less than two weeks after massive rallies in the country against a sharp increase in fuel, electricity and food prices.
Reports put the number of Saturday's protesters between 4,000 and 16,000 people.
'Spring of discontent'
Protesters voiced their anger at the government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov for failing to live up to its pre-election promises of improving living standards and restructuring the pension and healthcare systems.
The protest was attended by representatives of branch organizations, Bulgarian lawmakers, BSP leadership and leaders of Coalition for Bulgaria, a center-left electoral alliance led by BSP.
"Today is the first day of our spring of discontent," Socialist party lawmaker Rumen Ovcharov told the crowd.
"We cannot be happy with a government that is the most corrupt, the most irresponsible, the most liable to outside pressure and the most prone to corruption and nepotism," he added, sparking shouts of "Resignation!"
"We will put all our energy into ousting this government," Ovcharov shouted.
Protesters have called on the government to lower the excise duties on fuel to reduce prices for end-users.
Officials have blamed the ongoing revolutionary uprisings in North Africa and Middle East for the increase in fuel prices.
The price of a wide range of goods, including fuel and clothing, has sharply climbed, resulting in a downturn in consumption.
The Balkan state of 7.6 million people joined the European Union in 2007 and is the bloc's poorest member.
Bulgaria was hard hit by the financial meltdown in Europe and only managed to return to an economic growth of 0.2 percent in 2010.
AKM/HGH/MMN
March 26, 2011
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