Protests outside the Parliament building on Wednesday against the government policy were dispersed by police. There were clashes between the protesters and police and 154 were arrested, the Interior Ministry said.

Bringing together students, environmentalists and farmers angry with the power-holders, the protest started just before noon with authorization from the local authorities but was subsequently banned by an order from Sofia Deputy Mayor Yulia Nenkova who acted on an alert from the criminal police for possible use of explosives. Making public its decision, the City Hall said that the police had been alerted about the danger by the administrator of an Internet site.

Two hours after the start of the rally, the area outside Parliament and the St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia right across the street was clear of protesters. A large group of them reportedly headed for the nearby Orlov Most, a major junction where several thoroughfares cross. The junction was briefly blocked, and traffic on one of Sofia's busiest boulevards, Tsarigradsko Chausse, was closed to traffic for less than an hour.

There were between 200 and 300 people at the onset of the protests and it remains unclear how many joined later: neither police no the protest organizers provided any figures. In the early hours of the protests the Bulgarian National Radio reported that police outnumbered the protesters. The e-zine mediapool and the "Dnevnik" daily set the number of protests at some 3,000.

Before the protesters were dispersed, representatives of student organizations said it was a political - not a partisan - protest. In their words, the alternative to the present government is revolution - in politicians heads and not one in the streets.

The protesters' demands range from subsidies for farmers to amendments to the Forestry Act and the Higher Education Act, and changes in the situation in the Studentski Grad [Students' City] district in Sofia.

Despite the organizers' calls not to throw firecrackers at the Parliament building, stones, snow balls and firecrackers kept flying during the protests. Snowballs were also flying at the 100 or so helmetted policemen who formed a live chain around Parliament. A stone smashed a window on the facade of the Parliament building. The clash escalated and police stormed the crowd trying to push it backward. The protesters panicked and fled in all directions. Some were wounded.

Some protesters said police used tear gas in the clashes but the Interior Ministry denied that.

Darik Radio put the blame for the outbursts of violence and the clashes with police on football fans who reportedly joined the protests in large numbers.

The Interior Ministry said that among the protesters it has arrested was a 15-year-old boy who held three make-shift bombs and a bottle of ammonium nitrate. A police bus and two partol cars were vandalized at the protest site. One policeman and four gendarmerie were hurt by firecrackers and objects the protesters threw at them. They have been taken to the Interior Ministry hospital and their lives are not in danger.

The Bulgarian National Television (BNT) reported of young people admitted to hospital after the clashes with police. It quoted a physician of the Sofia emergency medical centre as saying that some of them were 9 and 10-graders who had obviously been drinking. BNT also showed a journalist from "Sega" daily giving an account of how he was assaulted by police with truncheons.

The Interior Ministry said more than 1,000 police from Sofia and elsewhere and gendarmerie would be in charge of enforcing order during protests.

The Sofia City Hall said that they have allowed three protests on January 14, 15 and 16 in the centre of the city.

Protests have also been scheduled for Plovdiv, Bourgas and Varna on Wednesday. The trade unions refused to participate in the protests. Another protest scheduled for Thursday - of metal workers from steel maker Kremikovtzi - was called off on fears that it might be politicized.

Inside Parliament, MPs from the majority and the opposition condemned the violence during the protests.

Interior Ministry Chief Commissioner Pavlin Dimitrov asked the organizers of the protest to disassociate themselves from groups who joined the rally but had nothing to do with the protesters' demands.

Meanwhile, the Bulgarian National Radio aired interviews with three young people who admit of being paid 300 leva to take part in the rally and provoke the police.

Source: BTA

To see our video report click here.