Five hundred people - a mixture of anti-militarists, anarchists and nationalists - demonstrated in Sofia on 12 November in protest at plans to build US military bases in Bulgaria. They called for a national referendum on whether Bulgaria should compromise its sovereignty and host the bases.
Following an initial agreement by the government - as long ago as 1999 - to host US forces, there have been recent reports that the US wants to send several thousand troops to the country, and is looking at sites for a base near the costal town of Burgas, 200 miles east of Sofia, the capital. Following a march and rally, demonstrators went to the police station where two activists had been held for the previous two days after being arrested for sticking up posters advertising the demonstration.
The Bulgarian government is currently in talks about details of the planned base with the US military, who also plan to move thousands of troops to neighbouring Romania.