25572 | 10 Jan. 2025 | 08:09

The citizen protest demanding early parliamentary elections has turned into violence and a siege of the parliament. Is January 10th a conflicting date?

Is January 10, 1997 a Controversial Date? Historians to Provide an Answer. 28 years have passed since then and the passions of the Bulgarians who were participants and witnesses to those events are still hot. What happened then and why can it still evoke vivid memories today?

 Autumn of 1996 and the beginning of 1997 mark the culmination of a dramatic time. In the 90s, the change that began on November 10, 1989, finds its way and imposes itself against fierce opposition from two main political forces - BSP, the successor of the communist party, and UDF- the coalition of opposition parties created immediately after the change.

 In Bulgaria, unlike other Eastern European countries, the socialist party, the successor of the communist party, is strong. In 1994, she once again won the parliamentary elections and the young Jean Videnov became the leader of BSP and the country.

 However, by the end of 1996, there were tremors within BSP, and Videnov was asked to resign. On December 21, it became a fact - she became the prime minister and the leader of the Socialists, while the party was led by Georgi Parvanov as chairman of the BSP's Supreme Council.

 But who will lead the country?

 On December 28, 1996, the National Assembly accepted the resignation of the government led by "Videnov".

 According to the Constitution, the head of state must give a mandate to the first political force to form a new government, and this was BSP. However, in January, there will be a change at "Dondukov" 2 - President Zhelyu Zhelev must pass the baton to the UDF's elected leader Petar Stoyanov.

 At the same time, the economic and financial situation in Bulgaria is catastrophic. It is a fact that there are already bankruptcies of banks, where together with the financial institution, Bulgarians' savings "sink". Inflation is fierce, with the dollar-lev exchange rate reaching 1 to 3000, and the average salary calculated at barely $10. But there is another side to things - in these murky times, the credit millionaires, the "chosen ones", are born, who drain the banks.

 And in both political and social terms, the stars are aligning in favor of the Bulgarian opposition. In December, she introduced a project to parliament for a Declaration of National Salvation with clear demands: the introduction of a currency board; reaching an agreement with the IMF and the World Bank to implement structural reforms; dissolution of parliament and holding early parliamentary elections.

 Rejected several times by the Left party group, the declaration is now in the spotlight of the 37th Parliament and on January 10th - the day when the opposition organizes a protest outside the National Assembly. Another event shapes the character of this day. On January 8th, the parliamentary group of the Socialists nominated Nikolay Dobrev, then Minister of the Interior in resignation, as the new Prime Minister. It is obvious that within the Socialist Party the attitude dominates that the mandate for government should be realized.

 The calls from UDF and dissatisfied citizens for the resignation of BSP from their mandate and the initiation of early elections are becoming more and more urgent and relevant.

 On January 10, the parliament was blocked by protesting citizens.

 Among the dissatisfied citizens are also the leaders of the opposition, who are warmly welcomed. In contrast to the BSP deputies, who cannot leave the National Assembly building without risk. This, however, was the case for BSP deputy and former Interior Minister Lyubomir Nachev (1954-2006). For years, there has been a version that Nachev's exit from the parliament building angry the demonstrators. It was the provocation, the signal shot, after which the tension escalated into brutal scenes.

 Citizens break glass and shop windows, attack police officers, interior minister Dobrev barely manages to reach the entrance of the National Assembly, guarded by shields from Ministry of Interior employees, and hours later the climax begins – the storming of the parliament.

 Footage from the events clearly shows that opposition leaders, as well as the now elected president Petar Stoyanov, are calling on citizens to refrain from violence.

 Stefan Sofiyanov, then mayor of Sofia, recalls: "With Father Inokentiy and with Krasimir Petrov – head of the State Security Service, we were holding on and managing to lightly push back the people who wanted to enter the National Assembly. They knew us and respected us, but at one point a smoke bomb went off and Krasimir Petrov said: "Run away!"

 This led to a series of events that still divide society to this day. Some of the protesters storm into the building, the rampage of the Bulgarian Parliament is a fact. The corridors are filled with the smell of tear gas. In the dark hours, the police managed to evacuate the stressed out deputies from the BSP. "Heads down, bags on top," instruct the police officers as they help the Members of Parliament onto the buses.

 Once again in the dark hours, on January 11th, the police clashed with the demonstrators. Support from across the country is summoned to aid the capital's law enforcement officers. A wide perimeter around the National Assembly is cleared from citizens, many of whom have been injured. Among them is the opposition member, former Prime Minister and future Constitutional Court judge, Filip Dimitrov.

 After midnight, BTA releases a statement from former President (1991-1997) Zhelyu Zhelev. The following is said in it: "I was in front of the parliament, I also entered the parliament, in front of the parliament there were gathered many young people who want early elections and change. For a second year, I have been warning that the way things are going, events in Bulgaria can spiral out of control. This has already happened, it is now a fact. The entire blame for this lies with the parliamentary group of BSP (Bulgarian Socialist Party) and the parliamentary government in our country. I support the protests of the citizens who take to the streets of the big cities, after being driven to such extreme and humiliating situation that they have to protest. With this, they prove that they are citizens and people with dignity. I do not approve of violence and destruction, it does not serve democracy. I call for order and legality." "In this situation, I will not hand over a mandate for the formation of a new government tomorrow. I am convening the Consultative National Security Council."

 The protests continue throughout January, with the demand for new elections being the main demand. On February 4th, BSP leader Georgi Parvanov and prime minister nominee Nikolay Dobrev return their mandate for forming a government to President Petar Stoyanov.

 Georgi Parvanov, who served as president for two consecutive terms (2002-2012), later gives the following political assessment: "Of course, at that time there were grounds for economic and social dissatisfaction among a large part of society. The protest had its rational roots and at the same time was politically exploited by the opposition at a certain stage." For me, it's about two trends in Bulgarian politics that have clashed over the years. One is the confrontational, destructive trend, which was most prominently displayed on January 10th. The other is the constructive trend, which had its most prominent manifestation on February 4th with the return of the mandate from Nikolai Dobrev, may he rest in peace, and my mercy.

 With this, we showed that power cannot be an end in itself, that power must be exercised for the people, and when this does not happen, it is only natural to step back.

 “In his memoirs, President (1997-2002) Stoyanov writes about February 4th: "This was one of the heaviest moments in my life. The people were on the streets for about a month, they were exhausted and nervous, and even angry about the refusal of the BSP to step down from power. This was a reaction not only against the cabinet of Jean Videnov." This was a reaction against all those 45 years of humiliating communism in Bulgaria. It was our delayed Prague Spring. Every day I went to people and knew that only a spark was enough, to lead to unforeseen consequences. Can you imagine, if a provocateur told the students at Orlov Bridge that the police was beating their colleagues in Plovdiv or Dupnitsa, what could have happened? Or if someone lit a car on fire, or threw a stone against a shop window - we were on the brink of a civil war. If the Bulgarian Socialist Party had formed a new government, that could have been the case.

 Many times I have thought whether someone had wanted exactly that scenario. "A country thrown into chaos and moving away from NATO and the EU for decades, and perhaps forever, as is now happening with some of the former Yugoslav states. That's why I sincerely hoped that the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) would show reason and give up their mandate, forget their ideas of a coalition government, and simply step down from power.

 According to Stoyanov's account, within the Consultative Council, Parvanov and Dobrev have given up their decision to form a second BSP government.

 On February 12, Stoyanov issues Decree No.100, appointing the interim government led by Prime Minister Stefan Sofiyanski. His first decisions: establishment of a currency board and submission of the application for full membership in NATO.

 And today, polar views are being launched in public - some remembering the riots against parliament and emphasizing the violence." Others are categorical that the Bulgarian Velvet Revolution took place on January 10. It is beyond doubt that there were provocateurs among the protesters.
Whose interests they serve, however, remains an open question.

 What is undisputed is this: after January 10, 1997, the opposition won the parliamentary elections decisively, and the ODS government led by Prime Minister Ivan Kostov ruled for a whole term. A term in which our country made a decisive turn towards the West, towards the EU and NATO.