BULGARIA

FROM SOPHIA NEWS AGENCY

Bulgarian Capital 'Deploys' Roma Ghetto Residents to Army Barracks
2010-05-13 19:24:50

Sofia Municipality is taking measures to remove the residents of two illegal Roma-populated ghettos close to the downtown of the Bulgarian capital.

The ghettos near the “Batalova Mahala” in the Serdika Quarter and the former dorms hosting Vietnamese workers before 1989 in the Krasna Polyana Quarter are supposed to be removed because of their illegal status,” according to the head of the Sofia Municipality committee on public order and security, Angel Dzhambazki.

The total of 2 100 Roma residents of the two ghettos are going to be relocated to former barracks of the Bulgarian country outside of Sofia which are currently not being utilized.

Dzhambazki, who is a city councilor from the ruling GERB party, has refused to reveal the locations of the “4-5 barracks.”

He did stress, however, that the former military buildings have all necessary infrastructure including electricity, water supply, and sewerage.

“We don’t want to see the Helsinki Committee intervene and start rallying people to protest. The last attempt to solve the problem with the illegal buildings in Batalova Mahala failed because of unaccetable pressure on the former government by second-class eurocrats,” Dzhambazki stated.

He pointed out that the Sofia Municipality was going to prepare its legal reasons for the relocation of the Roma in order to fend off all possible attacks.

“The former government did not help us to remove the illegal shantytowns but this time we are in touch with the Cabinet, and we will get help,” declared another GERB councilor, Andrey Ivanov.

Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova has said that every time the municipality had tried to resolve the issue with the illegal ghettos, legal rights activists interfere leading to court orders blocking its attempts.