The cleaning of the building of the European Commission (EC) Representation in Sofia, which was vandalized during the clashes with supporters of "Vazrazhdane", continues.
"The law enforcement agencies tried to solve the tasks, but there was no way to solve them in the way they wanted. The protest was declared to the Bulgarian National Bank, then the spontaneous idea arose to move the entire procession to reach the EU building. This requires a huge number of police officers, but it cannot happen. That's why they turned out to be a little unprepared," said the former deputy rector of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Assoc. Prof. Milen Ivanov in the studio of "Denyat ON AIR".
According to him, for 30 years, protests have been starting and ending in the same way.
Military training "The theses of both sides in the protests are the same. There are always injured police officers, this is normal, this is their job. The police do not have adequate means of self-defense. Today, there is even a discussion about whether they should have military training. If they had military training, they would never use spray without a gas mask. This is learned in the first days of initial military training," added Assoc. Prof. Ivanov on Bulgaria ON AIR.
He is of the opinion that the quality of police training is not improving.
"The eternal fear is that if the requirements are raised, there will be no police officers. Salaries are always low for everyone. A police officer must be sure when he goes out into the street that his superiors will stand behind him. Here we see a series of mistakes made out of haste - the use of spray. There are not enough personnel. We saw people without shields, trying to protect a building with their bodies," emphasized the former deputy rector of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
A person never has enough money
According to him, a cadre is built over years.
"Police officers should receive adequate salaries, but adequate for what? A person never has enough money. The other problem is how many people work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and how many of them are on the street. Those who are most at risk receive the lowest salaries. We are trying to make reforms by giving money", comments Assoc. Prof. Milen Ivanov.
He believes that the Ministry of Interior constantly keeps the public busy with itself.
"This means that there is a problem in the entire sector. It is most likely being used for political purposes", added the guest.