Borissov dominated the political landscape for more than a decade. Moreover, it was credited with Romania’s remarkable economic development, which quickly surpassed that of Bulgaria. Bulgaria is experiencing its biggest anti-government protests in seven years amid a growing corruption crisis that has exposed how oligarchs have exerted control over key parts of the state such as the judiciary and the security apparatus. Nigeria: Corruption and illicit flow of funds. Anti-Government Protests Against Corruption Intensify Across Bulgaria ... the resignation of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's government over corruption. Romania: De facto head of the country sentenced to 3 1/... Malaysia: Former deputy prime minister Zahid Hamidi cha... India: Supreme Court advises PM and CMs not to appoint tainted persons as ministers, China: Government takes control of Anbang Insurance Group, USA: Aitzol Iriondo Yarza of ETA movement was named as a terrorist, Brazil: Operation Car Wash collusion between judge and prosecutors. As Romanian Chief prosecutor from 2013 to 2018, she presided over numerous arrests of politicians, widely reported in the international press. Chief Prosecutor Geshev has been critical of the role of judges in the judicial system, while a number of organisations of lawyers and judges have signed demands for his resignation. This was despite the fact that less than a year later he was imprisoned himself for having two party members paid by the state for fake jobs. For weeks Bulgaria has been engulfed in fierce protests fuelled by the accumulated frustration and hopelessness over the government’s inability to bring an end to widespread corruption. The Bulgarian protests of the summer of 2020 constitute an unusual eruption of political energy. We need a huge public outcry. Please check individual images for licensing details. The protest is branded as an “ethical” one, beyond right and left, which unites the honest and disgusted people against the privileged elites. Or maybe it is an effort to stop altogether the nascent fight against corruption, before tensions and wounds abound and Bulgarian society has become irreparably divided and ravaged by the ensuing instability? [1] Today the younger generation – people in their twenties – are the most visible face of the protests. The opponents of Geshev from various organisations have been hoping to win Kövesi in Brussels on their side against him and Borisov. In my view the interest of Bulgarians lies in social change. Could the current be turning? The current anti-government protests can only be understood in light of the 2013 anti-corruption protests and their aftermath. The office of the prosecutor had thereby turned into a political player with formidable discretionary power. If the leaders of those currents fail to start explaining and debating their actions in a more lucid manner, these squabbles will become a meaningless spectacle, and the citizens might well fall back into their all too habitual apathy. Because of the high-level corruption, governmental abuses and the lack of judicial independence, Bulgaria demonstrates … An alternative anti-corruption formula was duly advanced by the community of the Facebook page and site Initiative “Justice for All” , which enjoys the support of the party “Yes, Bulgaria”, popular among the urban middle class. Day 33 of the protests, Sofia, Bulgaria: Interview with Nikolay Hadjigenov and Arman Babikyan. Indonesia: Maritime and fisheries minister nabbed by anti-graft body. Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. Corruption is a source of profound public discontent. Is the anti-corruption agenda all that it’s cracked up to be? Since then, protesters have been demanding changes in the country, including calls for an overhaul in the system of governance, with clear accountability … How will COVID-19 transform the global governance of migration and refugees? The prosecution’s investigations into two cabinets of the presidency were one of the sparks that ignited the current protests. The constitution allows the parliament to overrule presidential vetoes with a simple majority. Bulgaria started to develop its particular form of anti-corruption, consisting among other things in the creation of a specialised process of prosecution and specialised court and court procedure for confiscating illegally acquired property. The ‘Anti-corruption’ fight in Bulgaria that erupted again on July 9, 2020, is caught in a clash between two conflicting concepts of what is at stake. The Balkan nation, ranked as the most corrupt EU member state by the graft watchdog Transparency International, has yet to convict a single senior official of corruption. Radev, who was elected in … Or is it rather the oligarchy which finds new ways to strengthen itself? Will you add your name? This was successfully exploited by the Socialist leader and local baron Liviu Dragnea, who mobilised resistance against the DNA, found support in parts of the state and managed to obtain the resignation of Kövesi. Is the protest fuelled by those oligarchs who still enjoy the support of the government and who fear that eventually they will find themselves targeted and their assets transferred to their rivals? Bulgaria’s prime minister is under mounting pressure to step down as protesters take to the streets across the country in an outpouring of anger at his failure to control government corruption. 3 September 2020. Your email address will not be published. During Romania’s ‘golden age” of anti-corruption, the forces that are now against Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev in Bulgaria supported the Romanian anti-corruption model. The Bulgarian middle class seemed to envy their Romanian counterpart, for its degree of empowerment as a result of the ongoing Romanian anti-corruption effort. and "Out with the mafia!" More than three months since they began, the daily anti-corruption protests against Boyko Borissov’s administration are still headline news in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian prosecution publicises audio recordings and the chat messages of people who are not yet sentenced as guilty, but who are suspected of a crime. This seems to be the position not only of the younger generation, but also of the urban middle class. The protest movement is the culmination of long-standing grievances against endemic corruption and state capture, particularly associated with prime minister Boyko Borisov's governments, in power since 2009. So, the anti-corruption protests in Bulgaria and the fight of Bulgarian civil society for rule of law and democratic reforms are everybody’s business. Underlying this clash of models is the Romanian anti-corruption formula, which was popular in Bulgaria until 2017-2018. The only party with a formal position is the European Greens, who not only support the protests but also have criticised the positions of other EU parties. A 2017 assessment of the United States Department of State described the presence of selective justice and a lack of judicial independence. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Summers should be relaxed, with vacations at the seaside and little interesting news. These sad rankings do not merely reflect perceptions. Protesters responded with chants of "Geshev is a disgrace!" The pandemic has forced the closure of borders and worsened the lives of migrants and refugees throughout the world. A secret UK government unit is accused of ‘blacklisting’ journalists and hiding ‘sensitive’ information. But Geshev and Kövesi are also in contact as their official positions demand, and in June 2020 even Geshev requested that more EPPO prosecutors be dedicated to Bulgaria. In mid-August, in an attempt to assuage public anger, Borissov said he would step down once the lawmakers elected a Grand National Assembly to amend the constitution. But the protests are also ‘universal’: a conflation of all kinds of ideologies, ages and geopolitical allegiances can be found represented in the squares of the big cities. Brussels has not intervened because the Bulgarian PM is well connected in EU circles and a long-term member of the European People’s Party (EPP) – the Europe-wide political grouping of his own party, GERB. The latter has finally allowed itself to feel offended by the rule of a prime minister whose magical explanation for holding power over much of the last 11 years is: “I am stupid. Therefore we understand each other [perfectly].”, “The pre-2017 ‘golden era’ of anti-corruption in Romania was a fake”. This model of anti-corruption empowered the middle class, the people with higher incomes, the businesses. Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borissov remains defiant in the face of anti-government protests Corruption and government inaction against convicted Roma criminal Kiril Rashkov sparked the 2011 anti-Roma riots. Bulgaria: Protests and corruption crisis. They are a manifestation of widespread anger among the general public and its frustration over political corruption as … Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress. So what is the protest in Bulgaria really about when anti-corruption is its main trigger? At the risk of oversimplifying things, Bulgaria’s mass protests can generally be divided into social movements and, distinct from this, protests against establishment corruption. (“When the disgusted leave [power], the disgusting remain” is a popular saying.). The ‘Anti-corruption’ fight in Bulgaria that erupted again on July 9, 2020, is caught in a clash between two conflicting concepts of what is at stake by Vladimir Mitev This article was published at the Open Democracy site on 27 July 2020. Delyan Slavchev Peevski is a Bulgarian politician, oligarch and media mogul. How will the public judge what is good, or whether the road undertaken travels in the right direction? At that time, few efforts were made to elucidate the essence of the Romanian anti-corruption model. It was suggested that it meant independence of the judiciary from political pressure – the transformation of magistrates into true technocratic operatives. On August 10, 2020, members of DiEM25’s Sofia1 DSC sat down with Nikolay Hadjigenov and Arman Babikyan from the “Poisoning Trio”, widely considered the initiators and coordinators of the anti-totalitarian and pro-democratic protests of 2020 in Bulgaria. He also promised to reform the judiciary. The “Romanian model of anti-corruption” was lauded in the mass media as an exemplary model for delivering justice and building the rule of law. The Bulgarian anti-corruption model started to take shape around the person and the activity of Ivan Geshev. Weber had previously expressed his admiration for “Borissov’s fight against corruption” at the onset of the protests. “The Justice for All” community mentioned above opposes this model of fighting corruption. You [the people] are stupid too. Meanwhile, the EPP tried to deprive the resolution of its original intent. on ecological and civil rights issues – seem to be demanding the freeing of the Bulgarian economy and politics from the influence of the mafia, and its transformation into a proper liberal democracy. But the ethical higher ground is only the beginning, not the end, of what this protest is all about. Nowadays, a specific, Bulgarian form of “TV justice” takes place well before the court’s decision. This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. Street demonstrations against Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov that have been running for almost two months now. Why do some protesters’ banners refer to Eight Dwarves? Overview of the recent protests. The Eight Dwarves is the name of a restaurant in Sofia, where a meeting took place that has come to epitomize the national malaise. Meanwhile, prime minister Boyko Borissov’s government… The primary emotion behind this release of energy is evidently sincere disgust at the endless cynicism of the in-groups that dominate the country’s political and economic life. Since then, thousands of protesters have been lining the streets of Sofia daily demanding reforms addressing corruption. In the meantime, Bulgaria received a road map in 2018 allowing it to enter the ERM II mechanism (the waiting room for the eurozone), which involved strengthening its technocratic structures. On September 2, the two-month-long anti-governmental protests in Bulgaria entered the most violent stage to date. This opened the door for the abuse of power and the public perception of this abuse that has now triggered another round of protests. Curiously, apart from its orientation against President Radev, Bulgarian anti-corruption policy selects as its target some of the economic elites that have formed their corporate networks in the transition period. It could equally be claimed that it is a very Bulgarian battle. Recently there has been a growing clash between two approaches to anti-corruption in Bulgaria. Bulgaria currently ranks 111th in the world in the World Press Freedom Index. At first glance, it looks like the street’s demands are pretty clear: resignations of the prime minister Boyko Borisov and the chief prosecutor Ivan Geshev. How to dismantle a democracy: the case of Bulgaria. USA: Apple security chief’s attempt to bribe police with iPads. Is the Bulgarian deep state interested in some form of muddy political water, in which all the unaware and naive players will unveil their agendas, while the political elites gradually manage a new equilibrium that fits the changing international context? Thousands of people gathered in the center of Sofia demanding the resignation of both Borissov and the country’s chief prosecutor, Ivan Geshev. These 20+ old youngsters who have until recently been engaged online or offline, in social activism – e.g. It rarely touches on corporate economic interests. The Bulgarian anti-corruption model started to take shape around the person and the activity of Ivan Geshev. But there are differences too. Required fields are marked *. The Romanian anti-corruption model has been criticised for what was called in Romania “TV justice” – exposing various infamous people under arrest and handcuffed on primetime Romanian television. In any case, these protests are something necessary and positive, because they signify energy for action. But the rival corruption allegations leveled by both the Left and Right also highlight the lack of real political alternatives — with the country’s harsh social inequality and rising poverty levels drawing no similar political attention. Maldives: Former Vice President sentenced to 20 years. Anti-government protests in Sofia, Bulgaria, July 14, 2020. The protests in Bulgaria clearly open the debate whether the rule of law remains the central shared value for all Europeans. There is an expectation that the European Union, which has been deliberately blind to Bulgaria’s problems with the rule of law while it has been critical of Poland and Hungary, will intervene this time. There has been a feeling in Bulgaria that bottom-up change is impossible. During that whole period it certainly wasn’t soothing for the Bulgarian prime minister Borisov to have to listen to the high praise of the Romanian judicial system. While the Romanian prosecution was celebrated for having imprisoned ”a whole council of ministers” over sentences for corruption, no major politician was being put behind bars in Bulgaria. It turned out that what was imported from Romania was the idea of an unrestrained chief prosecutor. Is the fight for something more than power? Police used pepper spray and the protesters threw eggs, tomatoes, water bottles and garbage at police officers. Bulgaria has recent experience with protests. Australia: Police seize Melbourne property in international corruption case. Bulgaria has been known for its apathy and lack of social mobility, with many of its young people emigrating to the west for at least two decades. All these scenarios are plausible, but it is beyond doubt that the basis of the protests is the sincere and dire need for change. Anti-corruption protests are taking place all across Bulgaria. The Bulgarian protests of the summer of 2020 constitute an unusual eruption of political… How will the public judge what is good, or whether the road undertaken travels in the right direction? These are “honest businessmen'' or “oligarchs”, who have been close to the current government for a long time, but who have fallen out of favour. He was perceived as being weak on anti-corruption and in 2017 Rumen Radev, supported by the Socialist party, won the presidential elections by deploying among other things an anti-corruption rhetoric which appealed to right-wing voters as well. Bulgaria is gripped in a political crisis, its biggest since 2013, when sustained protests against corruption brought down a center-left government. The 2013 Bulgarian protests against the first Borisov cabinet spread to over 30 cities and were marked by seven self-immolations, five of which were fatal. Sep 3, 2020 | General, Politics | 0 | Protesters in Bulgaria. Post-democracy: there's plenty familiar about what is happening in Bulgaria, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. Written by: Editors of OpenDemocracy Russia. But the protests have many faces and there are also calls to fight for change by relying on our own resources, not on the help of foreign embassies. Its main target is democratically elected politicians who are presiding over clientelist networks. Some observers say that the demonstrations were triggered by the 9 July 2020 raid on the Presidency of Bulgaria by police and prosecutors as a result of a long-standing conflict between the prime minister Boyko Borissov and the president Rumen Radev. This was because, for many of the demonstrators, this demonstration of power could only mean that the prosecution was itself a player in Bulgarian political disputes between the institutions, over a long period of time when president Radev was in open conflict with the prime minister Borisov. But in spite of the many articles about Kövesi’s successful operations, despite her Bulgarian lecture tour, the Romanian anti-corruption model remained more of a slogan or a rallying point, than something that was understood conceptually or socially. But those who are really interested in progress, in raising the level of public discourse, promoting citizens’ demands and demanding the responsibility of public institutions, must present a coherent agenda for change. Do we see attempts of the state to limit the all-powerful oligarchy through a complex process of competition over anti-corruption? Only in 2020, … But this seems doubtful as opposition members refuse to support it. The model of anti-corruption based on a powerful Chief Prosecutor’s office thus came to be seen in Bulgaria as a path towards a European standard of living. The European Greens are the only EU party which has had a firm stance on Bulgaria’s corruption, even publishing a highly critical report in 2018. However, at the same time it also significantly limited the access of the lower classes, detached from real economic power and withdrawn to their rural in-groups, to their own political representation in a democracy. But one exception – “The pre-2017 ‘golden era’ of anti-corruption in Romania was a fake” – was the thoroughgoing 2019 interview on Romanian justice for the Bulgarian site “The Barricade” by the Romanian anti-corruption expert Codru Vrabie. It has been said that what we see in Bulgaria is a battle for the soul of Europe. Taiwan: Major general charged in corruption scandal. Interviews with Romanian experts rarely offer any clarity on what has happened in Romania in recent years. The community demands a limit on the Chief Prosecutor’s prerogatives, a reduced political quota on the Supreme Judicial Council and a stronger role for the judges in this institution. Currently, in the widespread popular protest, the division between the middle class and the oligarchs has come to dominate Bulgarian society and politics, just as was the case in Romania. The report stated that Bulgarian government officials were engaging in bribery, procurement violations and embezzlement with impunity. The broad political spectrum represented by the protesters is unprecedented. In 2016, Borisov claimed in an interview for Nova TV that, in contrast to Romania, there were no convicted Bulgarian ministers because no one in the government was corrupt. The 2020 Bulgarian protests are a series of ongoing demonstrations that are being held in Bulgaria, mainly in the capital Sofia, as well as cities with a large Bulgarian diaspora, such as London. Ryerson University’s Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration and openDemocracy are teaming up for a live discussion to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global governance of migration and refugees. Street demonstrations against Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov that have been running for almost two months now. Join us for this free event on 11 February at 5pm UK time/12pm EST. In the new Debates Digital talk, cultural anthropologist Ivaylo Ditchev gives unique insight into the on-going anti-corruption protests that have spread across Bulgaria since July. A substantial group of the protesters are young people educated in western universities. Is the fight for something more than power? He explained that Romanian anti-corruption was independent from political interventions, but owed its spectacular success to an unholy bondage to the secret services. Demonstrators have gathered in Sofia every evening since early July. Their health and jobs are more precarious, their journeys more perilous and their resettlement often suspended. Learn how your comment data is processed. On International Anticorruption Day: are we winning against corruption? But it may involve various international partners and actors if it remains undecided. Corruption crisis puts Bulgaria’s Borissov on the ropes President Rumen Radev says EU can no longer keep its ‘eyes wide shut’ on Bulgaria’s rule-of-law problems. Or is it an attempt to enlarge the scope of the anti-corruption campaign and target also the oligarchs who have hitherto enjoyed political protection? For weeks Bulgaria has been engulfed in fierce protests fuelled by the accumulated frustration and hopelessness over the government’s inability to bring an end to widespread corruption. Your email address will not be published. Resignation of justice minister and sacking of 3 government ministers have not abated the wave of protests. The demonstrators’ main targets are Borissov and the country’s Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev. A thoughtful weekly email of economic, political, social and cultural developments from the storm-tossed continent. Although nominally a technocrat, his media role and actions had departed from the traditional image of the chief prosecutor as a neutral and impartial guardian of the law. In fact, the Romanian anti-corruption model is marked by a number of peculiarities. The Romanian justice system is no longer plastered over the Bulgarian press. Romanian anti-corruption gained its fame under the leadership of the former chief prosecutor of the National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) Laura Kövesi, now chief prosecutor of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. According to Reporters Without Borders, his media group consisting of 6 newspapers, “New Bulgarian Media Group” controls nearly 80% of print media distribution. Police arrested 18 people late Friday after scuffles during the anti-corruption protests, but the demonstration Saturday was largely peaceful. What are the values, the goals, the approaches, the indicators of success of each of their versions of anti-corruption? James Milner Project director, Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN), Marion Panizzon Research fellow, World Trade Institute, University of Bern, Antoine Pécoud Professor of sociology, University of Sorbonne Paris Nord, Chair: Younes Ahouga Postdoctoral research fellow, CERC in Migration and Integration, Ryerson University. You [the people] are stupid too. There are other similarities between what was going on in Romania pre-2017 and what has been taking place in Bulgaria in the run-up to these protests. What is new about this movement, he says, is that it unites forces from the left and right political spectrum. In 2013, massive protests resulted in the resignation of the first Borisov government. Thailand: Corruption in Red Bull scion Vorayuth’s hit and run case. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. ... Bulgaria, the … An investigation into the Bulgarian government’s spending of EU funds by the European chief prosecutor is necessary when the EPPO becomes operational in the end of the year. He is said to control or influence many other local media and websites, that he does not officially own. ”Justice for All” has 7 key ideas for judicial reform that aim at limiting the power of the chief prosecutor as well as reducing political influence over the judicial system, through limiting the quota of the parliament in the high magistrates’ council. Vatican: Pope Formally transfers assets from Secretariat of State to Treasury. Are the global agreements that govern migration and refugees able to support safe, orderly and regular movement across borders and solve refugee situations? It would be great if the western public, citizens and decision-makers take that into consideration, when dipping their toes into our Bulgarian contradictions. But in July, following accusations of corruption and state protection of the mafia, protests broke in on the streets of Bulgaria. Corruption widespread in Bulgaria . Marching is the easy part in these protests. The demonstrators want what they consider a "mafia-style" government ousted. Reputable indices, such as the Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, Freedom Barometer by Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom for East and Southeast Europe, and the World Bank Governance Indicators, suggest that Bulgaria is the most corrupt EU member.. Creation of Grand National Assembly required two-thirds majority in the parliament. In comparison, Romanian anti-corruption focused on politicians as the carriers of social evil, with conviction rates of around 90%. If you have any queries about republishing please contact us. Vatican: Cardinal Becciu forced out in rare resignation. The embodiment of this specific ‘Bulgarian anti-corruption model’ is Ivan Geshev, who became the chief prosecutor in 2019 after a number of well-publicised anti-corruption activities he had previously enacted as a deputy chief prosecutor. This is a perfect storm, in which two visions for anti-corruption seem to be operating against one another and both of them, sincerely or not, claim the Romanian anti-corruption model as the source of inspiration. Therefore we understand each other [perfectly].”. It gradually cleansed the political landscape of the dinosaurs of the post-communist transition period. Both of them are considered by the majority of the protesters as representatives of “the captive state” that serves the oligarchy and mafia, but not ordinary citizens. “Corruption and the justice deficit is a terminal issue,” says Dimitar Bechev, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. Others believe that the protesters are incensed by the country’s rampant graft and argue the two men (the prime minister and the public prosecutor) have allowed oligarchs to influence core institutions such as the judiciary and abuse them for their personal gain. The anti-corruption protests that have been roiling in the streets of the Bulgarian capital Sofia for the past six weeks have united people from across the country and all walks of life. Presidency in Bulgaria is largely a ceremonial post without any actual power. Join the conversation: get our weekly email, We encourage anyone to comment, please consult, “I am stupid. Officially it is about anti-corruption, but the real stakes could be even higher. What is less positive is that the two big Bulgarian anti-corruption currents – the one behind Ivan Geshev and the one opposing him, are incapable of communicating a clear and consistent anti-corruption vision. Protests have erupted throughout Bulgaria over the last week after a political leader of an opposition party attempted to access a public beach and was stopped by national authorities who were protecting a nearby mansion of a retired politician. The ‘Anti-corruption’ fight in Bulgaria that erupted again on July 9, 2020, is caught in a clash between two conflicting concepts of what is at stake. "Corruption and the justice deficit is a terminal issue," says Dimitar Bechev, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. Myanmar: Military takes power and Aung San Suu Kyi detained. 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