Recently there has been a growing clash between two approaches to anti-corruption in Bulgaria. 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. 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. 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. Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borissov remains defiant in the face of anti-government protests Presidency in Bulgaria is largely a ceremonial post without any actual power. Moreover, it was credited with Romania’s remarkable economic development, which quickly surpassed that of Bulgaria. Are the global agreements that govern migration and refugees able to support safe, orderly and regular movement across borders and solve refugee situations? The broad political spectrum represented by the protesters is unprecedented. Since then, protesters have been demanding changes in the country, including calls for an overhaul in the system of governance, with clear accountability … 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. Join us for this free event on 11 February at 5pm UK time/12pm EST. USA: Apple security chief’s attempt to bribe police with iPads. Meanwhile, prime minister Boyko Borissov’s government… As Romanian Chief prosecutor from 2013 to 2018, she presided over numerous arrests of politicians, widely reported in the international press. Since then, thousands of protesters have been lining the streets of Sofia daily demanding reforms addressing corruption. Street demonstrations against Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov that have been running for almost two months now. These sad rankings do not merely reflect perceptions. Indonesia: Maritime and fisheries minister nabbed by anti-graft body. Radev, who was elected in … What is new about this movement, he says, is that it unites forces from the left and right political spectrum. How will COVID-19 transform the global governance of migration and refugees? 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. You [the people] are stupid too. In 2013, massive protests resulted in the resignation of the first Borisov government. Vatican: Pope Formally transfers assets from Secretariat of State to Treasury. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 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. Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. 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. Protesters responded with chants of "Geshev is a disgrace!" 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. 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. Police arrested 18 people late Friday after scuffles during the anti-corruption protests, but the demonstration Saturday was largely peaceful. 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. This seems to be the position not only of the younger generation, but also of the urban middle class. Vatican: Cardinal Becciu forced out in rare resignation. 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 protest is branded as an “ethical” one, beyond right and left, which unites the honest and disgusted people against the privileged elites. 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. 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. In my view the interest of Bulgarians lies in social change. 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? 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. Your email address will not be published. But the ethical higher ground is only the beginning, not the end, of what this protest is all about. Anti-government protests in Sofia, Bulgaria, July 14, 2020. It rarely touches on corporate economic interests. Bulgaria is gripped in a political crisis, its biggest since 2013, when sustained protests against corruption brought down a center-left government. Therefore we understand each other [perfectly].”, “The pre-2017 ‘golden era’ of anti-corruption in Romania was a fake”. 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. We need a huge public outcry. "Corruption and the justice deficit is a terminal issue," says Dimitar Bechev, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. Street demonstrations against Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov that have been running for almost two months now. 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? Please check individual images for licensing details. In any case, these protests are something necessary and positive, because they signify energy for action. Corruption and government inaction against convicted Roma criminal Kiril Rashkov sparked the 2011 anti-Roma riots. The Bulgarian anti-corruption model started to take shape around the person and the activity of Ivan Geshev. So what is the protest in Bulgaria really about when anti-corruption is its main trigger? [1] The prosecution’s investigations into two cabinets of the presidency were one of the sparks that ignited the current protests. 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.. If you have any queries about republishing please contact us. 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. Summers should be relaxed, with vacations at the seaside and little interesting news. Do we see attempts of the state to limit the all-powerful oligarchy through a complex process of competition over anti-corruption? It has been said that what we see in Bulgaria is a battle for the soul of Europe. The current anti-government protests can only be understood in light of the 2013 anti-corruption protests and their aftermath. “The Justice for All” community mentioned above opposes this model of fighting corruption. Resignation of justice minister and sacking of 3 government ministers have not abated the wave of protests. A thoughtful weekly email of economic, political, social and cultural developments from the storm-tossed continent. It gradually cleansed the political landscape of the dinosaurs of the post-communist transition period. 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. Bulgaria: Protests and corruption crisis. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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? 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. 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. Is the anti-corruption agenda all that it’s cracked up to be? This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. Sep 3, 2020 | General, Politics | 0 | Protesters in Bulgaria. But there are differences too. 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. Borissov dominated the political landscape for more than a decade. Police used pepper spray and the protesters threw eggs, tomatoes, water bottles and garbage at police officers. More than three months since they began, the daily anti-corruption protests against Boyko Borissov’s administration are still headline news in Bulgaria. 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. Bulgaria has recent experience with protests. 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. Maldives: Former Vice President sentenced to 20 years. On September 2, the two-month-long anti-governmental protests in Bulgaria entered the most violent stage to date. It was suggested that it meant independence of the judiciary from political pressure – the transformation of magistrates into true technocratic operatives. Brussels has not intervened because the Bulgarian PM is well connected in EU circles and a long-term member of the European Peopleâs Party (EPP) â the Europe-wide political grouping of his own party, GERB. 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. 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. 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. 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. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. According to Reporters Without Borders, his media group consisting of 6 newspapers, “New Bulgarian Media Group” controls nearly 80% of print media distribution. Why do some protesters’ banners refer to Eight Dwarves? How to dismantle a democracy: the case of Bulgaria. and "Out with the mafia!" They are a manifestation of widespread anger among the general public and its frustration over political corruption as … It turned out that what was imported from Romania was the idea of an unrestrained chief prosecutor. 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. 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. He explained that Romanian anti-corruption was independent from political interventions, but owed its spectacular success to an unholy bondage to the secret services. 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. Anti-corruption protests are taking place all across Bulgaria. Is the fight for something more than power? It could equally be claimed that it is a very Bulgarian battle. Myanmar: Military takes power and Aung San Suu Kyi detained. 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. Officially it is about anti-corruption, but the real stakes could be even higher. The Eight Dwarves is the name of a restaurant in Sofia, where a meeting took place that has come to epitomize the national malaise. Will you add your name? 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. The constitution allows the parliament to overrule presidential vetoes with a simple majority. Thailand: Corruption in Red Bull scion Vorayuth’s hit and run case. 3 September 2020. 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. 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. These competing anti-corruption formulas are now clashing, as they contain irreconcilable differences regarding the nature of the Chief Prosecutor’s office. Written by: Editors of OpenDemocracy Russia. Taiwan: Major general charged in corruption scandal. Only in 2020, … 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. 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? The Bulgarian protests of the summer of 2020 constitute an unusual eruption of political… Political crisis in Bulgaria sparks protests and outrage. Join the conversation: get our weekly email, We encourage anyone to comment, please consult, “I am stupid. The Romanian justice system is no longer plastered over the Bulgarian press. 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. In fact, the Romanian anti-corruption model is marked by a number of peculiarities. Meanwhile, the EPP tried to deprive the resolution of its original intent. Thousands of people gathered in the center of Sofia demanding the resignation of both Borissov and the country’s chief prosecutor, Ivan Geshev. 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. 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. (“When the disgusted leave [power], the disgusting remain” is a popular saying.). How will the public judge what is good, or whether the road undertaken travels in the right direction? Learn how your comment data is processed. Today the younger generation – people in their twenties – are the most visible face of the protests. 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. Australia: Police seize Melbourne property in international corruption case. Bulgaria currently ranks 111th in the world in the World Press Freedom Index. Nowadays, a specific, Bulgarian form of “TV justice” takes place well before the court’s decision. On International Anticorruption Day: are we winning against corruption? 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. But it may involve various international partners and actors if it remains undecided. 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. He also promised to reform the judiciary. But in July, following accusations of corruption and state protection of the mafia, protests broke in on the streets of Bulgaria. Its main target is democratically elected politicians who are presiding over clientelist networks. Weber had previously expressed his admiration for “Borissov’s fight against corruption” at the onset of the protests. 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. Nigeria: Corruption and illicit flow of funds. 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