The initiative committee comprising student, environmental and farmer organisations used the slogan "United we stand to bring about change" as a rallying cry meant to galvanise the Bulgarian society for a national protest scheduled for January 14, which was announced at a news conference on January 12 2009.

Protesters have composed a declaration with 19 demands that would be deposited at the National Assembly on the day of the protest. The declaration states that for years, Bulgarian people have lived on the [social] bottom in a country infested by mafia, lawlessness and amnesia. It proclaimed that people would no longer be slaves to the rulers, for there was no excuse for the failure of Bulgarian pseudo-statesmen, who have had at their disposal capable and hard-working people, centuries-old traditions and luxuriant land.

"We demand change of the system, not only the faces. We demand transparent governance and direct public control. Decisions should be made with the immediate participation of Bulgarian citizens," the declaration stated.

The protest is scheduled to begin at 11am, when separate columns of marching students, trade organisations and other participants will meet on the Narodno Subranie square in Sofia.

The panellists who spoke during the news conference stressed the fact that no political party stood behind or financed the protest. Everybody was invited, but organisers said that they would keep a close watch on how the event unfolded and make sure that no one took advantage of it for personal gain. 

Asked about rumours circulating in the media that organisers have been trying to draw to the protest the fan base of a major football team and could that result in some hooliganism during the protest, organisers again said that the appeal was extended to all Bulgarian citizens, as well as foreigners living in Bulgaria.

Students spoke passionately about the miserable state the Bulgarian higher education was in and demanded that a national strategy for its future development was drafted within two months. They also asked that immediate measures were taken for increasing the safety and betterment of living conditions in the so called student cities around the country.

Students participating in the panel said that the protest would have be an instructive example for politicians and common people alike. "We do not want to topple the government, but we have the constitutional right to call for the Cabinet resignation and to protest," student leaders said. "We also want to demonstrate that people in Bulgaria can unite, we want to lay the foundations of a true civil society."

There were some concerns voiced out, however, of what it was exactly that the protest was trying to achieve. Critics said that the declaration lacked focus and did not propose anything "more radical and concrete." Organisers were accused of being fearful and not calling the things with their real names, such as that Bulgaria was a country ruled by the mafia.

There were also doubts expressed in online discussions of the upcoming event, with one comment summing them up: "Nothing will come out of this protest because it does not have a clear objective and it is fervently trying to avoid being politisised. Political problems require political actions and not civil protests, let alone in Bulgaria... For any results, the protesters should put their trust in a new leader who through that nationwide support could squeeze the ruling minority."