Garmen Municipality

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.