Ta nea toy BTA 28-Feb-95[**] Ta nea apo thn Presbeia ths Boylgarias sthn Washington, D.C. . Apofaseis toy symboylioy twn Ypoyrgwn. . O Rwssos Prouyp. ua episkeyuei thn Boylgaria sto telos Martioy. . Parallhlismos toy Z. Zhelev me ton L. Walesa apo thn efhmerida "24 Chassa". * O Yp. Am. dhlesw oti h Boylgarikh polemikh biomhxania ua prepei na prospauhsei na apokthsei pelates sthn Toyrkia kai Ellada. . Dhlwseis toy Prouyp. Z. Videnov gia to mellon toy Sosialistikoy kommatos. . Apokatastash toy Urhskeytikoy arxhgoy twn Moysoylmanwn. ** Symfwna me aruro hmerhsias efhmeridas melh toy Toyrkikoy kommatos sthn Boylgaria kataskopeyoyn yper ths Toyrkias. ** Synanthseis toy Arxhgoy GE Enoplwn Dynamewn ths Boylgarias me Ellhnes ajiwmatoyxoys. . 12 ekatom Gallika fragka ua dwuoyn gia thn anabaumish toy pyrinikoy ergostasioy sto Kozlodui. . H Bpylgaria ua paralabei daneio ycoys $14 ekatom apo thn Dieunh Trapeza gia na ejaleicei ta xhmika poy katastrefoyn to ozon. * Ellhnikh kai Boylgarikh etaireia organwnoyn synedrio gia na bohuhsoyn tis mesolabhseis metajy Boylgarias kai mikrwn kai mesaiwn etaireiwn. . Meta thn Rwssia o Yp. Emporioy ua episkeftei thn Germania. ** Omada Ellhnwn ajiwmatikwn toy stratoy ua episkeytei thn Boylgaria gia elegxo tmhmatwn toy Boylgarikoy stratoy. Giwrgos Kapodistrias ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: bulgaria@access.digex.net (Embassy of Bulgaria) Subject: BTA inf/ Feb. 28, 95 Date: 28 Feb 1995 14:39:55 -0500 EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA - WASHINGTON D.C. BTA - BULGARIAN TELEGRAPH AGENCY BULLETIN OF NEWS FROM BULGARIA FEBRUARY 28, 1995 COUNCIL OF MINISTERS' DECISIONS Sofia, February 27 - Following the transformation of GATT into the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Council of Ministers decided today to make an official bid for Bulgaria's accession to the WTO. The cabinet confirmed the mandate for further talks on Bulgaria's accession to the WTO, the cabinet's press office said. The interdepartmental working group on GATT will be transformed into an interdepartmental group on WTO issues. The group's leader Dencho Georgiev will be special government representative to the multilateral trade talks. The Council of Ministers today increased by 0.20 leva/l the prices of all kinds of petrol and diesel oil for March as follows: A-98 26.00 leva/l, A-96 25.40 leva/l, A-93 20.40 leva/l, A-86 18.80 leva/l, unleaded A-93 19.20 leva/l. The prices of gas oil, fuel oil and natural gas will go down by 3.1 to 6.1 per cent. The Council of Ministers adopted a bill on the Central Service for Organized Crime Control (CSOCC). The bill regulates the public relations, structure, functions and management of the bodies and the personnel composition of the CSOCC. It also provides for the setting up of territorial units with the Sofia and the Regional Directorates of the Ministry of the Interior as well as for the setting up of a consultative council on organized crime issues as an auxiliary body with the director of the CSOCC. The bill also provides for special measures guaranteeing the security of CSOCC officers involved in fighting crime and their families. The Council of Ministers approved in principle today a bill amending the Penal Code, providing for the introduction of life imprisonment as an alternative to capital punishment. Two bills amending the Code of Criminal Procedure were also approved in principle. The amendments do not provide for the abolishment of capital punishment. The amendments provide for the criminal prosecution of drunken driving when the concentration of alcohol in the blood of the driver exceeds 1.2 pro mille. The Cabinet also proposes to include racket in the list of criminal offenses as a specific form of blackmail as well as audio and video piracy. The Cabinet relieved Tsvyatko Barchovski and Stilyan Stoichev as chairman and deputy chairman of the Sport, Youth and Children Committee. Hristo Hristov was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Committee to perform the functions of chairman till the appointment of a new one. The Cabinet relieved the leadership of the Forestry Committee - its Chairman Hristo Todorov and his deputies. Georgi Stenin was appointed Deputy Chairman. He will be Acting Chairman till the appointment of a new chairman. Government Spokesman Nikola Baltov said that these decisions of the Cabinet were motivated by the need to improve the work of the two committees. The Council of Ministers decided to subordinate the Agency for Economic Coordination and Development to the Ministry of Economic Development. The Government decided to transform the Foreign Investment Committee with the Council of Ministers into an Agency for Foreign Investment with the Ministry of Economic Development. The two decisions are part of a Government decree on the functions of the Ministry of Economic Development. The Council of Ministers heard a report by Finance Minister Dimiter Kostov on the meeting of government officials with representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank on February 18 and 19. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ P R E S S R E V I E W (February 27 ) BULGARIA - RUSSIA Russian Prime Minister, Victor Chernomyrdin will arrive in Bulgaria on a two-day visit on March 23, "24 Chassa" writes, referring to unnamed sources close to the Kremlin. Mr. Chernomyrdin is expected to take part in the signing of several agreements on cooperation in economy and humanitarian matters. Changes in the term of the visit are not very likely, the paper writes. It says that Kiril Tsochev, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Foreign Economic Cooperation, and Dimiter Pavlov, Defense Minister, are going to visit Moscow early in March. They will draft an agreement on the settlement of Russia's 100 million US dollars debt to Bulgaria. According to "24 Chassa", Moscow will repay its debt by delivering military supplies and metallurgical machines. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BULGARIAN PRESIDENT ZHELYU ZHELEV "Zhelev Plays Walesa-style," reads the headline of an article in "24 Chassa". The author comments on President Zhelev's actions since the BSP-led coalition won last year's parliamentary elections with an absolute majority and since the BSP Government came into power. "Post-Communist presidents in Eastern Europe act in a similar way, anticipating new presidential elections," it is noted in the subtitle of the material. "What else can the Bulgarian President do but pretend to be opposing the Socialists and hope that a new political group will be formed before the end of 1996 which will be powerful enough to nominate him for the presidential election," the article says. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX "Douma", the daily of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), quotes a statement by Defense Minister Dimiter Pavlov made during his visit to the Han Kroum military repair works in Turgoviste (Northestern Bulgaria). "The word "conversion" should be forgotten for some time," he said and specified that the military industrial complex uses only 18 percent of the capacity of its personnel. The Minister is reported as saying that besides in Russia, markets for the Bulgarian special purpose supplies should be sought in Turkey and Greece as well. "Troud" publishes similar information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BSP "Douma" quotes BSP leader and Prime Minister Zhan Videnov as saying at a regional meeting in Plovdiv (Southern Bulgaria) that the BSP should become a party of the nation, consolidating all social strata and becoming a major factor in the social dialogue. Mr. Videnov stressed that the Party should become a stable home front and a corrective for the Government. Visiting Kurdjali (Southern Bulgaria) and Bourgas, BSP Deputy Chairman Georgi Purvanov spoke about an enlargement of the BSP local structures and the establishment a broad left-wing front, "Douma" writes. "Socialists Seek Unification with the Bulgarian Communist Party," reads a leader-page headline in "Demokratsiya", the daily of the opposition Union of Democratic Forces (SDS). According to the article, the extra-parliamentary Bulgarian Social Democratic Party (BSDP) is still No. One in the list of allies the Socialists prefer, but BSDP leader Peter Dertliev is reluctant to become their partner. "The BSP is organizing a left-of-center front to serve as a scapegoat for Videnov's incompetent ruling," the article says. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHIEF MUFTI This morning Nedim Gendjev, Chairman of the Supreme Muslim Theological Council and Chief Mufti Hadji Basri Hadji Sherif entered the building of the Chief Mufti's Office in Sofia. So far the building was occupied by Fikri Sali, also claiming to be the legitimate Chief Mufti. Several days ago the Government approved the statutes of the Muslim denomination in Bulgaria and the Religious Faiths Directorate registered its central leadership headed by Chief Mufti Hadji Basri Hadji Sherif. Later Fikri Sali said he was driven out of the building by force and intended to complain before President Zhelev, the Prosecutor General's Office and international institutions, including the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the International Court in The Hague. Nedim Gendjev is taking office as Chief Mufti again, "Douma" reports on its leader page. The Government has approved the statute adopted at the 1994 Muslim conference, according to which only the Supreme Muslim Council, headed by Mr. Gendjev, has the right to elect the Chief Mufti. Fikri Sali was dismissed as Chief Mufti. According to Hristo Matanov, Director of the Directorate of Religious Faiths with the Council of Ministers, this will put an end to the chaos in the Muslim community in Bulgaria, the paper says. Other dailies also carry reports on the same topic. "24 Chassa" cites Mr. Gendjev as saying that "the conference, scheduled for March 6, said to have been organized by Fikri Sally, is actually organized by the DPS." According to Nedim Gendjev, his priority task is to expel illegal Islamic sects from Bulgaria. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BULGARIA - TURKEY "Party leaders Work for Turkey's Intelligence Service," reads the headline of the leading story in today's "Standart News". According to the article, a 60-member commission of the Interior Ministry has received reports from the counterintelligence units in Bourgas (on the southern Black Sea coast) that outstanding leaders of the ethnic Turks' Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) in the area work for the Turkish secret services. Reportedly, intelligence officers have intercepted attempts to pass information about strategic roads, bridges and railroads in the rear of the first-echelon divisions of the Bulgarian Army. The information was intended for agents working under diplomatic cover at Turkey's consulate general in Burgas. The spies were collecting information for the intelligence department of the General Staff of the Turkish army, Standart News" writes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BULGARIAN MILITARY DELEGATION LEFT FOR GREECE Sofia, February 27 - A Bulgarian military delegation, led by Colonel General Tsvetan Totomirov, Chief of the General Staff of the Bulgarian Army, left on a three-day official visit to Greece at the invitation of Gen. Tototmirov's Greek counterpart, Vice Admiral Christos Limberis. The two senior military officials are expected to discuss the promotion of relations between the armies of the two countries and to sign a program for military cooperation between the defense ministries and the general staffs in 1995. Gen. Totomirov and the delegation he leads will be received by Greek Deputy Minister of Defense Nikos Curis and will visit army units. Early last week Greece's Minister of National Defense Gerasimos Arsenis was on an official visit to Sofia. He had meetings with President Zhelyu Zhelev and Prime Minister Zhan Videnov. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BUSINESS PRESS A program worth 12 million FFR launched by the French Electrical Company Electricite de France (EDF) for equipping the N-plant in Kozlodui (Northern Bulgaria) will be completed by the end of 1996, "Pari" says. The company has also provided 20 million FFR for a feasibility study on the reconstruction of the plant's two largest reactors. In cooperation with the EDF, by the end of the year the National Electrical Company will draft a strategic program for the future development of Bulgaria's power engineering. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "BULGARIA TO RECEIVE 14 MLN DOLLARS FOR OZONE DEPLETION CURB" Geneva, February 27 - "As leader in offering a solution to the problem of eliminating ozone depleting chemicals, Bulgaria has qualified as the first east European country to receive financial aid from the World Bank for this purpose. The next step is for the countrys projects to be approved by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), which will specify the amount to be extended for their implementation," "Aegis", a new international magazine devoted to environmental protection in Europe, reports in its latest issue. Talking to the BTA special correspondent in Geneva, the publisher, Duncan Fisher from East-West Environment Ltd. based in London, confirmed the news. A well informed source said that preliminary estimates put the sum Bulgaria might expect at 12 to 14 million US dollars. According to experts, Bulgaria does not produce any ozone depleting chemicals but imports some for its refrigerator, optical and other industries. "Aegis" writes that a new Freon 134 A, which experts say poses no danger to the ozone layer, will be used in the production of Bulgarian refrigerators. The import of equipment containing ozone-depleting agents will be banned from January 1, 1996, provided Bulgaria gets GEF approval for financing all its 19 projects, the magazine reports. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ INTERNATIONAL MEETING UNDER THE INTERPRISE PROGRAM Sofia, February 27 - A two-day international meeting under the Interprise program opened here today. The forum, organized by the Bulgarian Industrial Association and the Greek Balkan Development consultancy firm, and funded by the European Union, aims to stimulate the setting up of and mediation between Bulgarian and foreign small and medium- sized enterprises. Such meetings are very important as they lead the way to establishing business contacts between companies of different countries, said Hans Schuf, Interprise Program Director with the European Commission. They should be held in small countries like Bulgaria, with specific economic sectors, he said. Bulgarian, Greek, Italian and Belgian companies of several sectors, including construction, the production of building materials, food-processing and the light industry are taking part in the meeting held for the first time in Bulgaria. The Interprise program was set up to encourage cooperation among economic sectors and businesses across Europe. Assistance for various regional and national projects for the promotion of business contacts and for concluding cooperation agreements between small and medium-sized enterprises are some of the programs objectives. Non-EU members are eligible to take part in the program. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MONDAY NEWS BRIEFS (February 27) "I chose Germany for my first visit abroad because after the Russian Federation it is Bulgaria's largest foreign partner," Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade Kiril Tsochev said today upon his departure to Germany. Tsochev will attend the opening of the Days of the Bulgarian Economy in Lower Saxony. In Leipzig and Munich Tsochev will meet representatives of the business circles and the Minister President of Bavaria. "We will assure foreign investors that Bulgaria is not a country with a closed economy," Tsochev said, adding that he expects his visit to yield positive results. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A group of officers of the Greek armed forces will visit Bulgaria on February 28 to inspect units of the Bulgarian army in implementation of the 1994 Vienna Document for confidence-building and security measures. The group will be accompanied by officers of the Bulgarian army. ==============================================================================