Demolition of Illegal Roma Buildings to Begin in Bulgaria's Garmen

The demolition of the first four illegal buildings in the Roma neighbourhood of the Bulgarian village of Garmen should begin on Monday.

According to schedule, another two illegal houses should be demolished on July 13, daily Sega reports.

The demolition became necessary after a fight between Bulgarian and Roma residents over loud music grew into a series of protests against the illegal settlers at the end of May.

This has unleashed a wave of discontent, with locals protesting on a daily basis for more than a month and calling on the state to apply the laws equally to all citizens.

This forced the state authorities to finalise the procedures on the demolition of the illegal buildings, a process which has been delayed for years.

However Roma settlers have still not removed their belongings and have no intention of doing so as they have nowhere else to go.

Some of the Roma settlers have threatened to set themselves on fire rather than allow their houses to be demolished.

In return, Bulgarians are threatening to renew the protest in case the demolition does not go forward as planned.