Amid political tensions surrounding the resignation of the Bulgarian government, public opinion in the country has been seriously worried this week over yet another riot in a migration center, this time in the southern town of Harmanli. Resentment among the residents of the center has been provoked by an inevitable measure of the medical authorities - declaring quarantine over dozens of cases of infectious skin diseases. In similar situations, quarantine is declared regardless of whether foreigners or Bulgarians have been infected. But the mutinous inmates have raised another unacceptable condition - to be provided with a corridor through Bulgaria to the border with Serbia allowing them to continue their way to Western Europe. Discontent grew into violence which prompted the authorities to use rubber bullets and water cannons that they use only as an exception. Following the arrest of 300 inmates, serious material damage caused including of facilities bought with money from the European Union, and after 24 police have been injured the crisis in the center has been contained.

The developments in Harmanli have impacted political affairs, among other things. The outgoing government has been strongly criticized for insufficient efforts to guarantee public security, and the opposition has demanded a debate in parliament to consider the case. The prime minister has postponed his visit to Hungary to be able to discuss the problem and the needed measures with law-enforcement authorities. Spontaneous indignation has flooded social networks and this has prompted the prime minister to call on Bulgarians to refrain from hate speech and to be careful with their negative reactions because Islamic State was closely watching via Facebook what was released in the news. The option of the riot being organized from abroad should not be ruled out.

The riot in Harmanli has been contained but the problem with migrants in the country remains and the society needs an adequate solution to be appeased. The riot in Harmanli has been caused not by people fleeing military actions but mostly by migrants from Afghanistan some of whom the police have termed hooligans and men who see Bulgaria as a mere transit point to the cherished Western Europe. In this particular case we have seen disregard of national law and a threat to public security, the kind of behavior for which local Bulgarian citizens too are subject to harsh sanctions. In connection with the case in Harmanli the government will try to extradite five persons to Afghanistan, while other detained migrants will be accommodated in gated centers. However, they will remain in Bulgaria and no one can claim there won’t be new riots. The discontent of migrants by the way arises from that Bulgaria strictly abides by the requirements of the European Union for the protection of the bloc’s outer borders.In this sense solving the problem is not only up to her competences but is a function of a larger, supranational European policy. This is a policy that many countries of the European Union have demanded but which has unfortunately been emerging very slowly and unconvincingly.