Sofia to Hold Rally of Solidarity with Migrants on Saturday

A rally voicing solidarity with migrants seeking asylum in Europe is due this Saturday, September 12, in Bulgaria's capital Sofia, its organizers have said.

The event is part of the international #RefugeesWelcome initiative which brings together citizens from most EU member states, the US and Australia. Organizers say it is aimed at sending a welcoming message to migrants and to remind society of the "tragedy unfolding at and between Europe's borders".

On Saturday, the rally is scheduled to begin at 18:30 at the entrance of the so-called Ladies' Market (Zhenski Pazar) and to reach the EU Commission and EU Parliament's representative office in downtown Sofia.

Participants will demand that procedures under the Dublin II Regulation, which allows for deportations and also for sending back an asylum seeker to the EU country where they were registered. They will also urge the renewal of the Mare Nostrum program saving migrants who try to cross the sea from Africa to reach Europe, and also an end to special operations carried out among migrant communities by the domestic security and counter-intelligence agency DANS.

Bulgaria has conducted a number of operations over the past two weeks detaining dozens of people who illegally crossed into the country without applying then for asylum.