The residents of Kableshkovo came out for a peaceful protest in front of the Court House in Burgas to show everyone that they are ready to defend their town. They are adamant that they will not back down. They are demanding a local referendum on 5 January 2025 to make it clear that they do not want a stone quarry at Malka Biberna South.
Today the court in Burgas is hearing the case, which is appealing against the decision of the Municipal Council in Pomorie to convene a referendum of the population of Kableshkovo. The decision was attacked by the governor of the Burgas region Maria Neykova as unlawful.
Before Iskra.bg a number of residents of Kableshkovo, as well as the mayor Ivaylo Ivanov were adamant that they would defend their town with live chains and protests and would not allow the investor to enter and destroy their homes and livelihoods. Ivanov stressed that Neikova had indeed stepped on the law because underground resources are the prerogative of the Ministry of Energy. But people are in the square in Burgas to make it clear to everyone that the construction of a stone quarry is certainly a matter of local importance because it will change the lives of the residents of the town of Kableshkovo.
“We want to leave the town, at least in the way we have seen it, to our children and grandchildren!” said Ivaylo Ivanov.
Asked by Iskra.bg whether they are ready to protest in Sofia and to turn to Brussels, the mayor replied:
“We are ready for absolutely everything! We only want to respect the law!”
Adam Adamov, the chairman of the Municipal Council in Pomorie, also stood in front of Iskra.bg’s camera. He stressed that the citizens of Kableshkovo should certainly have the right to have their say on their fate in the next 15 years. He added:
“From a purely moral point of view, we cannot condemn over 3,000 people to 15 years of breathing polluted air, having noise around them, their houses cracking. I live in Kamenar – a district of Pomorie, but it used to be a village. There was a quarry. My father had a cottage there and we know what it’s like to have a quarry next to the settlement – it’s constantly cracking, stones are falling, tiles are breaking…”
For his part, the citizen Alexander Kamchaliyev explained that for the third time the same investor is trying to make a stone quarry in Kableshkovo, having already been denied an EIA:
“I don’t know what difference it makes, since nature is increasingly threatened. 15 years later this man wants to destroy the nature of Kableshkovo again. The interest of the people must prevail. We are united and we are adamant that we will not allow it!”
“We are ready for anything. There will be protests everywhere! And not only – there will be human chains. I am here because I want to keep my home as it was. Kableshkovo is a great town to live in and now a company that wants to make millions will carry out a malicious activity without caring about us, the residents. People from all over the world live in Kableshkovo. Everything has already been bought,” one of the protesting residents of Kableshkovo told Iskra.bg.
“Look how many people are here! Over 2000 signatures have already been collected! We need to take people’s opinions into account! We don’t want this kind of activity to take place in our settlement, which will endanger the peace and security of the whole area!” said another resident who came out to today’s protest.
Georgi Topchiyski is a recent resident of Kableshko. He lived 25 years in Germany and has returned to Bulgaria. He chose Kableshkovo because it is a wonderful place:
“Nobody wants a career. These are people from Germany, Holland. Nobody can understand what this is about. For me it’s a private company’s self-interest!”
The citizens of Kableshkovo are also considering the option to turn to Brussels. They have already issued a petition in which they appeal to the state institutions for assistance. If they are not heard, they are ready to take any action to defend their lives – theirs and their children’s.
[…] Residents of Kableshkovo told Iskra.bg: We will defend our town with a human chain! We will not back… […]