Garmen

The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) representative and former leader, Kornelia Ninova, described the country's situation as a collapse of statehood and non-functioning institutions, especially highlighting the dysfunction of the parliament, as reported by the BNR.

Residents from the municipality of Garmen issued a new ultimatum to Bulgarian authorities on Monday.

The residents tabled a petition with 720 signatures to the Council of Ministers, giving the authorities a deadline of one week to take an action against the illegal Roma dwellings.

Some 150 people protested in central Sofia on Saturday against what they perceive as inaction of Bulgarian authorities on the issue of illegally built Roma dwelling in Garmen municipality.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has called on Bulgaria to immediately stop evictions of Roma and address the problem of anti-Roma rhetoric.

The media statement of the OSCE was issued several days after the European Court of Human Rights demanded the suspension of the demolition of two illegal buildings in the village of Garmen.

Residents of the municipality of Garmen, southwestern Bulgaria, are taking to the streets of the capital Sofia next Saturday to protest a move to call off the demolition of illegal Roma dwellings in their village.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has asked the Bulgarian government to stop the demolition of illegal dwellings in the Roma neighbourhood of the village of Garmen until housing has not been provided for the vulnerable families.

Six families residing in some of the illegal buildings in the Garmen municipality have refused to use the social services they have been offered.

Residents of Garmen, a village in southwestern Bulgaria, are set to stage a demonstration on Tuesday to vent their anger at what they call a state of lawlessness in the Roma neighborhood.

Security has been stepped up, and additional police forces have been deployed to prevent any major escalation.

Only 24 houses in the Roma neighborhood of Kremikovtsi in the southwestern village of Garmen are legal, according to the results of joint inspections of power distributor CEZ, Bugaria's National Construction Control Directorate, and the Social Assistance Directorate.

The Roma population in the Garmen municipality have stated their conviction that they are living in peace and harmony with the rest of the citizens in the region. They commented on the tensions in the neighborhood of Kremikovtsi.