R.I.P Plamen Goranov - Murdered by the Mafia?

I'm pretty sure 99% of people outside my country have never heard of this man, but today millions of people here are mourning his death. On 20th February Plamen self immolated in front of the municipality building in Varna, Bulgaria. He like thousands of others were demonstrating against the corrupt government, the low standard of living, the power of the monopolies and their links to organised crime.

He has been likened to Jan Palach, the Czech student who self immolated in 1969, who many people think was central to events that led to the fall of the Iron Curtain.

This is the story from the 20th: Source and todays story of his death: Source

The pressure on the government toppled it a couple of days later and the country has been overcome by protests and demonstrations since then. Every city, town and village across the country has taken to the streets in what is the biggest uprising since the introduction of 'democracy' back in 1989.

There were 3 incidents of self immolation in a week here, now 2 of them are dead the third is critical. The nation was shocked by this extreme activism and friends and strangers alike provided a constant supply of blood for Plamen, but last night he passed away, ironically on the 135th anniversary of this country's independence. He was a loud voice in Varna against the corruption and infiltration of the political system by an organised crime network, otherwise known as the TIM Group.

This is a Wikileaks document from 2005 on Bulgarian organised crime that details some of the activities of TIM among others: Wikileaks

News broke today that some of Plamens friends have indicated that TIM were somehow involved in his death. Source

This videoclip from the day before his death shows him talking about TIM

A rough translation is... I want to add to what was said before me that not only the government, but TIM are responsible for this protest... Down with TIM... Down with TIM...

This is a video from the protest yesterday in Varna. It has to be said that this is happening all over the country:


Another ironic twist of this is that the name Plamen means 'Like a Flame' and Goranov means 'Burning'


For further information on the ongoing crisis here see this thread AboveTopSecret.com

I've just found a blog by one of Plamens friends:
mittag.wordpress.com
This is dated 28th February, before his death. Its in Bulgarian but it reinforces the point that Plamen did not commit suicide. Here's a translated excerpt:

Last time I spoke with Plamen was Sunday February 17, on the phone. His voice was hoarse, he was very excited. We were scheduled to go to the Seven Rila lakes for a day or two before leaving for Turkey, where he would climb over rocks in Antalya. He excused me that he could not come because he is involved in the protests in Varna. He said: "I'm sorry, I cannot see you this week as we will kick out Kiro (Mayor Kiril Yordanov)."

he goes on to say that...

Plamen is intrinsic to inspire. Moreover, he has the gift to inspire people around him. He is the soul of our company... Besides an artistic, kind and versatile talent, Plamen is a stable, responsible, organized and earthy man who is guided by strong principles.

The defunct Bulgarian government have declared tomorrow (6th March) as a national day of mourning for Plamen. Novinite.com

Also in a rapid turn of events the deeply disliked mayor of Varna, Kiril Yordanov is expected to announce his resignation tomorrow after being disowned by his former political partners, he has been often criticized for his close ties with the shadowy TIM group, which is alleged to tightly control the affairs of the Varna Municipality. He has so far rejected calls for his resignation but it seems the pressure is mounting to a point now where it is impossible for him to retain his role.
SofiaGlobe

I don't have much that I can offer the thread other than to say thank you once again Severin for your insight and input to a situation that deserves far more attention than it is being given in the msm out with Bulgaria.


S&F for your efforts my friend and please do not let the lack of response on this thread deter you from posting further updates on the situation in your country as they unfold.

I'm sure many on ATS are following events closely , thanks to your continued excellent work on the subject matter.



Edit to say that the flag function is unavailable on this thread for some reason

reply to post by MisterMiyagi


Thanks very much for your input Mr Miyagi. Its nice to know that people are taking interest in whats going on here, the situation is developing pretty fast in 100 different directions at the moment.

There's lot of senior resignations, investigations and finger pointing with threats of civil unrest, prosecutions and revealing of shady deals... My opinion is that quite a few people will end up in jail after all is said and done.

This TIM Group is a fascinating story - I started digging around and these people are SERIOUS CRIMINALS with their tentacles extending into many aspects of national and foreign (read Russian) government, business and the judiciary.

I'm trying to put it all together into a coherent order at the moment, but its all unfolding faster than I can research it

As for the Flags - I've noticed that on a couple of other threads recently too.

Friends of Plamen have been paying tribute to him and it has been revealed that in August last year he was responsible for 'The Pussy Riot Makeover' of the Bulgarian-Soviet Friendship memorial in Varna, one of many such memorials dotted around the country.


Source

here's a link to the original news story from last year: Klassa.bg