The regional governor of Plovdiv transferred to the councilors the decision whether to dismantle Alyosha

2023-08-24 13:24:40

Already in 1996, there was a similar decision of the Plovdiv municipal council, but it was canceled by the court as illegal

In an Open Letter sent to the regional governor of Plovdiv Iliya Zyumbylev, The Atlantic Council of Bulgaria has requested that swift measures be taken by the state to dismantle the Monument to the Soviet Army (Alyosha), located on the Hill of the Liberators in Plovdiv.

In a position sent to the media, the governor first of all recalls that with Decision No. 89 of the Municipal Council, taken with Protocol No. 8 of 10.04.1996, the Municipal Council of Plovdiv assigned the Mayor of Plovdiv (Dr. Garabed Tomasyan then ) to “immediately take the necessary actions to remove the monument “Alyosha” from the Hill of the Liberators as a symbol of the occupying Soviet army”. This decision was appealed by the then regional governor to the District Court, which on June 20 of the same year annulled it as illegal, referring to the Constitution and a number of international agreements. The decision of the Plovdiv magistrates was confirmed by the Supreme Court.

“In support of the procedure, as the regional governor, I made the necessary survey of the status of the monument and its ownership,” wrote engineer Zyumbylev in his position. “It has been established that a deed of state property was never drawn up, neither under the repealed Ordinance on Held Properties, nor under the current Act on State Property. That’s why I requested additional information from the “Regional State Archives” Directorate – Plovdiv, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture.”

The answer of the Ministry of Culture is that the Alyosha monument does not have the status of a single immovable cultural value. According to the Law on Cultural Heritage, the Alyosha monument is located within the boundaries of an immovable cultural value – Park “Hill of the Liberators”, which has the status of a monument of “local importance”.

The regional governor believes that if the Municipal Council of Plovdiv wants the monument to be dismantled, it can take concrete steps to initiate the procedure for surveying the status of the monument under the Law on Cultural Heritage and Ordinance No. 3 of 2019. Neither the government nor the Ministry of culture can make a decision without the local parliament of Plovdiv, emphasizes Iliya Zyumbyulev.

He has sent a letter to the Municipal Council – Plovdiv, in which he recommends concrete steps to undertake the relevant activities to remove or preserve Alyosha.

“Everything is in the hands of the Municipal Council, which can instruct the mayor to complete the procedure under the Law on Cultural Heritage and its by-laws,” the district manager points out.