The dismantling of Alyosha in Plovdiv hit a snag, a referendum will probably be reached

The councilors from the PP-DB insist on moving the monument, but their colleagues in the Municipal Council believe that there are much more important problems. The monument to Alyosha in Plovdiv is connected with a very difficult period for the Bulgarian nation, when our country was occupied at the end of World War II by the Red Army. He manifested this time and that is why he should be moved, said municipal councilor Vladimir Slavenski from the PP-DB group. This occupation lasted for three years and during this period the Bulgarians experienced many unfortunate moments, he added. However, his idea of ​​making a quick decision to dismantle the monument did not find support. Most of his colleagues in the City Council are not at all inclined to vote to push the granite giant, and not only because it is not at all clear how, without a crane, they will take it down from the Bunardjik hill and take it to the Museum of Communist Art, as proposed by the DSB , and also because it would be too expensive, and there are much bigger problems to solve. This is also one of the reasons why GERB did not express its representative to speak to bTV about Alyosha this morning. “The municipal council in Plovdiv consists of eight groups, the largest of which is that of GERB. They did not send a representative from it this morning,” said correspondent Raina Zaikova. PP-DB insists that the monument be moved by the end of the year. Most of the municipal councilors who appeared on the television said that it is not they, but the citizens of the second largest city who should decide that Bunardjika will be left without the stone warrior. However, it turns out that there are no funds even for a referendum. DSB demanded that Alyosha in Plovdiv be removed by the end of 2024. “Socialists in Plovdiv are of the firm position that the monument to Alyosha is where it should sit. It is not a symbol of division, but of an epic period of Bulgarian history. Any word in the direction of his relocation calls into question the results of World War II. However, in addition to Russian soldiers, we also had Bulgarians who fought on all fronts,” countered municipal councilor Kalin Milchev from the BSP group. He clarified that our country has more than 400,000 soldiers who were in the ranks of the then Red Army, and 20,000 of them died. “These people have a right to be honored. Their blood was not in vain. It was given so that we can live a normal, free and peaceful life here”, Kalin Milchev is categorical. “It is important to provoke a public debate. If a difficult decision has to be made, we are also in favor of a referendum, but during this time the legal, technical and financial aspects of this issue must be discussed”, said Stefan Posliyski from the third largest group in the Municipal Council “United for Plovdiv”. “We are currently in the process of valuing a referendum and discussing how it can be implemented. In all committees, we postponed the decision-making on this case. Our position is categorical that the case is of particular importance, which affects all citizens of Plovdiv and should be taken up after the holding of a referendum”, said Tervel Borisov from ITN. “We don’t have a categorical position, since we have different people in the civil movement, and in the discussion with colleagues we decided that everyone should express their opinion and opinion, but what is important to say is that this debate has already begun. We must do it in all the democratic ways that the laws allow. The referendum is an appropriate form for making such a decision,” commented Borislav Inchev from “Bravo, Plovdiv!” “We believe that Plovdiv currently has much more important problems and we do not consider Alyosha to be number 1, 2 or 5. Ecological urban transport, the state of the Maritsa River, green areas, limiting redevelopment are extremely important,” he added. “We will support the idea of ​​a referendum, because the people of Plovdiv must take an active part, and as the representatives of their desire and will, we must know what their attitudes are in order for our decision to be substantiated,” emphasized Inchev. SOURCE – FLAGMAN