The blocking of intersections is not a protest, but a racket, Minister of Culture Boil Banov told „NOVA“. He refused to predict whether the „Borisov 3“ cabinet would complete its term. According to him, there are more important things, namely:
„Protest is something that is essential to democracy and valuable to it. There is no democracy without the opportunity to protest and express our opinion. When people go out to protest, the authorities are obliged to try to understand each protester what made him take to the streets to protest.“
„The issue of someone or some people blocking intersections is radically different. This is not a protest, but a racket. There is no country in the world that can give in to racketeering, not because it is a big problem whether the government will leave, but because if a government succumbs to racketeering, it means that the next government can also succumb. This means that anyone who may decide he or she disagrees with state policy can come out to block key intersections and highways and overthrow a government. That’s not the way to go., „he added.
Among the protesters there are those with reasonable demands, the minister said. According to him, the problem is that there are no formulated economic and social demands. At the moment, they were multifaceted and everyone expressed a position. He explained that the statements of the protesters sometimes embarrass each other, collide with each other.
The Minister of Culture also announced that he would not allow any artist to be left without support. He pointed out that the 12 of the 15 million levs allocated for culture will go to freelance artists.
„BGN 7.5 million have already been given to freelance artists – those who are not on a labor contract. The state has generally supported not only during the state of emergency, but also in the future all state institutions with fixed insurance of salaries, insurances and utilities of the respective institute. From then on, there are about 3,000 freelancers, and 2,200 are through the National Revenue Agency, but there is another part who are not insured in this way, but are actually freelancers and they do that. For them we have given the opportunity for each of them to apply personally for BGN 4,000 for a single project. The conditions are to develop material that is based on Bulgarian drama (Bulgarian poetry, literature, Bulgarian text, etc.), ie to be related to the Motherland and when they develop the project, to give it to us online to show it on a platform so that everyone can see it. „
For two years in a row, the budget of the Culture Fund has been increasing – until now it allocated BGN 2 million for projects, and now – BGN 24.5 million. Until three years ago, this money was BGN 400,000.
The Minister of Culture summed up that our country will not allow any artist to be left without support. However, he pointed out that if someone does not have the opportunity to make a project for something Bulgarian – then it is a pity for the artists in this country.
