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DE RUEHSF #0025 0160704
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 160704Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY SOFIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5700
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SOFIA 000025 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIA:  SECOND DAY OF PROTESTS PEACEFUL 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  Two thousand protestors gathered for a second 
day in front of Parliament January 15, a day after a demonstration 
of roughly the same size turned violent as extremist groups clashed 
with police.   The January 14 clashes were the worst since mass 
protests brought down the Socialist government in 1997.  This 
generation of protestors lacks organization and a common political 
goal.  They are quick to distance themselves from attempts by the 
political opposition to use their protest to provoke early 
elections.   At this stage there is no threat to government 
stability, but a long continuation of the total gas cut-off, now in 
its 10th day, could prompt powerful labor unions to join the 
protests, challenging government stability.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  On January 14 a diverse group of 2000 -- students urging 
better campus conditions, farmers calling for state subsidies, and 
environmentalists protesting expanding construction in protected 
areas, launched a protest in front of parliament.  Their action was 
hijacked by members of extremist organizations and so-called "soccer 
hooligans" who threw bottles at police and overturned security 
barriers.  Police broke up the protest after receiving a tip that a 
protester was carrying an explosive device.  The highly unusual 
event left 154 arrested and 33 injured. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) On January 15 about 2000 students and other 
mostly-peaceful protesters continued their demonstration, waving the 
Bulgarian flag and chanting "Mafia" and "resign."  Having learned 
from the previous day's violent clashes, the police stepped up 
security, with the number of policemen on the scene roughly equal to 
the number of protestors.   The protest took on political overtones 
in its second day.  The weak center-right parliamentary opposition 
joined in and vowed to boycott plenary sessions while protests 
continue.  There were predictable accusations and denials that 
opposition parties were using the protest to force early elections. 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) Comment:  The January 14 protests were the worst since 
1997, when tens of thousands of angry protestors staged mass 
gatherings and strikes and ultimately brought down the 
then-Socialist government.  The current protests do not pose an 
immediate threat to government stability, partly due to the absence 
of the two major trade unions which played decisive roles in the 
1997 events.  So far the labor organizations capable of causing 
serious economic disruption (metallurgical workers, drivers, and 
miners) have stayed out of the protest.  Current protest organizers 
lack a clear political message and refuse to be identified with any 
particular political movement.  People are upset over the ten-day 
gas cut-off.  They lack confidence in the government, which is edgy. 
 Absent some dramatic new development, government stability is not 
in question, but it senses that events are not in its hands. 
MCELDOWNEY