The Eagles' Bridge (Orlov Most) in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, is a symbolically powerful place. The country's largest anti-Communist demonstration took place in June 1990 at this traffic jam prone site - just steps from parliament and the university.

Twenty-two years later, in June, a new protest culture emerged. Thousands of young people who had organized themselves via Facebook and Twitter occupied the bridge to voice their opposition to a controversial law on the use of forests. The law's provisions included making it easier to expand ski areas in nature reserves in southern Bulgaria.

The bill would also have allowed ski runs, ski lifts and hotels in protected mountain and forest areas to be built without forcing contractors to go through the cumbersome and expensive application process for converting land areas into building land.

Previously, these applications had been mandatory for all construction projects. The investors and operators of ski resorts appealed to economics: cutting down on bureaucracy is very important for tourism, they said. Doing so would make Bulgarian ski resorts more competitive.

Competing interests

Ski tourism is of enormous importance to Bulgaria - especially in the economically depressed regions of the mountainous southwest where unemployment is very high. This was the main argument advanced by Miroslav Naydenov, minister of agriculture and food.

The most prominent figure in Bulgaria's ski culture, businessman Tseko Minev, spoke on behalf of the industry. "Society is being misled," he said. "The development of ski tourism does not represent a danger to the environment."

Minev wanted to dispel protestors' concerns, which are also shared by representatives of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). But the young environmentalists were convinced that the proposed law would result in a massive clear-cutting in the forests. Angered but peaceful, they demonstrated against greed and ignorance towards the environment. They argued the government was just trying to cater to business interests.

Finding their voice

Claims about possible business interests of government officials, corruption and nepotism constantly circulated as the new law was debated. In this tense atmosphere, the proponents of the law struck back. They accused the environmentalists of being funded by the winter tourism industry in Austria, Switzerland and Germany in an effort to prevent Bulgarian ski resorts from being competitive.

As the confrontation between environmentalists and ski industry lobbyists increased, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov intervened as a mediator. Although he previously belonged to the supporters of the law, he said he would listen to public opinion and block the draft of the law.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev - a member of the same party as Borisov - then vetoed the bill, alleging it was incompatible with EU law. Moreover, the president said, the critics were right to fear that the law "does not cohere with the fundamental principles of the constitution and civil rights."

It marked a victory for the environmentalists - at least for now. Bulgaria's protest culture also chalked up a win. The flash mob that gathered on the Eagles' Bridge was the first mass protest successfully organized by way of social networks. It perhaps marks the beginning of a new generation of Bulgarians finding their political voice.

Author: Alexander Andreev / gsw
Editor: Martin Kuebler