Anti-Roma protests overshadow Bulgarian presidential poll

By Elena Lalowa Sep 29, 2011, 10:31 GMT

Sofia - Bulgaria's traditional tolerance for minorities is facing a serious challenge, with extremist nationalists shouting 'Gypsies out' in the streets.

The wave of ethnic tension, which followed a fatal traffic accident involving the Roma minority, comes as the country gears up for presidential elections next month.

Racist slogans used to be confined to the internet, but offensive chants have now been heard in Sofia and other large cities at demonstrations against this minority numbering less than 400,000.

The outburst was triggered by the death of a 19-year-old of Slav origin, who was run down by a minibus in the southern village of Katunitsa near Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second city, on Friday evening.

The driver of the minibus, who now stands accused of hitting the young man on purpose, belongs to the entourage of Roma clan head Kiril Rashkov, 69, known as Czar Kiro.

The locals turned their anger on the clan, setting several of Rashkov's houses on fire and trying to drive his people out over the weekend.

Rashkov is reported to have become wealthy by trading in foreign currency and gold in a 'reign' stretching back to the communist era. After the fall of communism in 1989, he sold illicit alcohol, according to news reports.

Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov has said that the clan leader has paid no taxes in more than 10 years.

'The protest in Katunitsa was aimed at an oligarch who has been tolerated for 22 years,' said Konstantin Pentshev, a senior official tasked with citizens' rights.

Villagers were complaining that the 'untouchable' clan leader had terrorized the community, he said.

Rashkov was arrested in Plovdiv on Tuesday. He is accused of threatening for years to kill a relative of the dead youth, Angel Petrov.

'Rashkov is at last where he should long have been,' police chief commissioner Kalin Georgiev said.

Leading politicians in Sofia are now trying to douse the flames and limit the damage.

'This is a personal, not an ethnic conflict,' Parvanov said. He paid a visit to Katunitsa with Prime Minister Boyko Borisov to talk to both groups.

Nevertheless, demonstrations of solidarity with the late Angel Petrov are often tinged with hatred for the Roma.

'The Roma draw their social security cheques while paying nothing for electricity and water,' is a common complaint from members of the Slav majority.

The protest wave revived the debate on integrating the Roma into Bulgarian society. 'Where are the promised billions in aid from various funds?' Pentshev queried on national radio.

Almost five years after the Balkan country joined the European Union, the Roma remain among the poorest people in Bulgaria.

Most have such a low education that it is difficult for them to find jobs. Some have had no schooling at all. The global economic crisis has also had an impact, with crime rates on the rise within this ethnic group.

'The Roma are being blamed for everything,' television journalist Kremena Budinova said. 'They can no longer sleep and do not send their children to school' for fear of intimidation, she said.

The anti-Roma protests cast a shadow over the launch of the campaign for the October 23 presidential elections.

Parvanov has warned against allowing ethnic sentiment to spill over into the campaign. But the conflict has come at just the right time for extreme nationalists in the Ataka Party.

Ataka, which is represented in the Bulgarian and the European parliaments, is demanding the restitution of the death penalty - to combat crimes committed by the Roma, in particular.