Hackers Block Bulgaria PM`s Site Ahead Of Election

`We are fed up with you plundering Bulgaria before our eyes, damaging its natural resources and discrediting the reputation of our nation`.

Hackers temporarily blocked the website of Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev on Thursday, saying they were furious with his Socialist-led government's failings, local media reported.

Three days before Sunday's parliamentary election, opinion polls show two-thirds of Bulgaria's 7.6 million people want the government to go, citing its failure to tame chronic corruption and act against the global downturn.

"This site is hacked by several furious but otherwise ordinary citizens of the Republic of Bulgaria," said a note by the hackers displayed on the blocked website (www.stanishev.bg) and later published by several local news agencies.

"We are fed up with you plundering Bulgaria before our eyes, damaging its natural resources and discrediting the reputation of our nation ... Disgrace is a weak word for you and your deeds," it said.

Access to the site, where Stanishev describes his party's achievements, was restored later on Thursday.

Two-and-a-half years after joining the European Union, Bulgaria's reputation has hit a low, marred by its government's inability to make politicians, magistrates and crime bosses accountable.

Last year, Brussels punished Sofia for failing to address widespread fraud and corruption by freezing more than half a billion euros in EU aid.