Echo from Rakovski St.

The summary lines of Aug 29th action in protection of National Park Rila is
- More and more people go out on the street and request immediated STOP of the violations of laws and nature;
- The Municipality has played hard core. The action has been deemed illegal and in response police has provoked an arrect of one man and ...2 dogs ...?
- Some of the participants expressed opinion that it is not illegal to walk on the pedestrian path, but instead it is illegal to construct roads and other facilities in an area where it is even prohibitted to go outside of the marked track, leave alone driving heavy duty machines(Rila example)
Photography by tropot

For Bulgarian reportages:
http://nabludatel.blogspot.com/ and Optimiced

A quick chronology of the action
All photography is by Denitsa Ruseva apart from image above and last image below. Тhank you Deni
19:28pm Rakovski St. loads of people from boths sides of the street.
19:32pm People start crossing and in no time the traffic is blocked.


~19:40pm Some carton illegal construction start to grow around the pedestrian zebra
~19:41pm asst prof Stoyan Beshkov from the Bulgarian Accademy of Science walks on the zebra with 2 dogs on a leash
~19:42pm The police officers push him then ask for his ID and then take measures to arrest him
~19:43pm Chaos. People start to shout to leave him. Police officers start pushing people and drag Beshkov and the dogs aside. He is finally arrested together with the dogs for no apparent reason.
For great photo coverage of the above including the arrest of Stoyan Beshkov also go to tropot

19:45pm People singing Hubava si Moia Goro, illegal carton construction is fully in place with signs no tresspassing private property. The police blocks peope from crossing the street, but already the mass is all over the place and the street is blocked by carton hotel buildings photograhpers and journalists. Signs that cats teh eye are OUT from the Great Rila Dessert and Bulvd Rila Lakes....

With shouts "Nature", "Rila" "Knock it down, the construction" Knock it down, the construction at Varvara" Knock it down, the construction in Rila and in Pirin" the people urge the police to remove the carton illegal construction and at the same time the illegal construction in the National and natural parks.

Nothing happens and the people decide to move away in order to allow the police to remove the carton and the remove the blocade....the police does not know what to do and keep standing on the street.

Finally in 2 hours people who remained there removed the carton buildings and build them in front of the Ministry of Environment Building.

Photograhy by silvercoin
For additional coverage go to:
tropot
http://za-rila.hit.bg/