Sofia mayor postpones demolition of Batalova Vodenitsa ghetto

The Mayor of Sofia, Boiko Borisov, has infomed prime minsiter Sergey Stanishev that the demolition of the Roma houses in Batalova Vodenitsa will be put off.

The reason for the decision is a letter of four members of the European Parliament in which they urge the Bulgarian authorities to postpone the forced eviction of the residents of this neighbourhood and the demolition of their houses. The MEPs call for the finding of a long-term solution of this problem.

A joint working group was formed with the participation of the Sofia municipality and Roma organisations to draft a program for solving the problem.

In his letter to the four MEPs, the Sofia Mayor informed them about the planned measures concerning Batalova Vodenitsa and that the demolition would be postponed with one week.