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Protest held in Bulgarian city against dismantling Soviet Army monument

The protesters called for wisdom and respect for history

PLOVDIV /Bulgaria/, January 17. /TASS/. Several hundred people gathered in the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv to protest against the idea to remove the local monument to the Soviet Army known as Alyosha.

The people rallied near the city council as the proposal to dismantle the statue came from some of the municipal lawmakers. The protesters called for wisdom and respect for history.

The townspeople were joined by lawmakers from the Bulgarian Socialist Party and members of some other political groups such as Stand Up Bulgaria, the Left and the anti-fascist movement.

"We arranged the protest in the morning, as the issue of moving the monument was to have been considered at today's session of the city council. It ended up being removed from the agenda, but we did not cancel the rally," Vesela Stancheva, chairwoman of the For Faith society, told TASS.

Should this proposal be suddenly adopted, protesters will be ready to form human chains to protect Alyosha, she said.

"We will be on duty around the clock and will not allow the monument to be destroyed," she said.

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