News from Bulgaria / Nov 29, 95

From: bulgaria@access1.digex.net (Embassy of Bulgaria)

Bulgarian Telegraph Agency Directory

EMBASSY OF BULGARIA - WASHINGTON D.C.

BTA - BULGARIAN TELEGRAPH AGENCY

BULLETIN OF NEWS FROM BULGARIA

CONTENTS

[01] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS IN UKRAINE

Kiev, November 28 (BTA) - A Bulgarian parliamentary delegation led by National Assembly Chairman Blagovest Sendov arrived on an official visit here today. On his arrival, Sendov told the press that the visit marked an important stage both in parliamentary contacts and in Bulgarian-Ukrainian relations at large.

"We have a long tradition of friendship and have come here to build our present relations on the principles of active cooperation and exchange in all spheres of shared interest," Sendov also said.

The Bulgarian MPs laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Later on the delegation and Supreme Council Chairman Aleksander Moroz held official talks.

The visit is getting extensive coverage. According to the media, there are prospects for cooperation both in traditional areas and in ones which will be in the focus of dialogue at parliamentary and government level in the future.

[02] BULGARIA CHOSE DEMOCRACY, SAYS MINISTER PRESIDENT OF SAXONY ANHALT

Cologne, November 28 (BTA) - "In a long-term perspective Bulgaria has a future in the common European home and steps are now taken in this direction," the Minister President of Saxony Anhalt, Reinhard Hoeppner told an interviewer of Radio Deutsche Welle. "We have to show clearly that Bulgaria is part of Europe, and get a more detailed information on the political processes in this country," the interviewee said. According to him, German people should understand that Bulgaria has opted for a democratic development. Reinhard Hoeppner said he is personally involved in the efforts to establish a positive image of Bulgaria in Germany. The interviewee further said the ties between Bulgaria and Saxony- Anhalt are making a progress; the other German states, too, are revising their attitude to Bulgaria. According to him, however, some of Bulgaria's desires are not easy to fulfill. He said funds to this country are unlikely to come from the new German states as entrepreneurs there do not have sufficient capital of their own. "But though it is entrepreneurs in the West who have the money, we have another decisive advantage: we understand much better the situation in Bulgaria because we have lived together in the former East bloc for more than 40 years," Hoeppner went on to say.

[03] NATIONAL RADIO CHIEF MEETS PROTESTING JOURNALISTS

Sofia, November 28 (BTA) - Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) chief Vecheslav Tounev today met the journalists of the Horizont programme who signed a protest declaration on November 22. In their declaration 34 journalists protested against the "administrative interference in the programming and broadcasting, [...] the imposing and rejecting of topics, guests in the studio, forms and authors". Late last week the signatories to the declaration met with Bulgarian President Zhelyu Zhelev. At today's meeting both sides demonstrated understanding for the need for a constructive dialogue to settle the problems at Horizont and make sure they are not used for political purposes. All professional conflicts at the BNR should be settled inside the BNR, reads an address by 22 intellectuals sent to BTA. The BNR people and managers are able to cope by themselves with their strenuous work. Indeed, sometimes they are subject to pressure and only common sense can help them keep their balance, the address goes. Editors of the Hristo Botev programme, who joined the sign-in of their 34 colleagues of the Horizont programme of BNR, came out with a declaration demanding that the problems of the second national programme be discussed on an equal footing. Several months ago the management of the Hristo Botev programme was dismissed without any explanations, the declaration says. However, it turned out that the new management does not have a clear concept. According to the editors, broadcasts influencing public values and criteria were put off the air in the daytime hours. Thus, according to the declaration, National Radio acquired two similar news and music programmes [Horizont and Hristo Botev] the second viewed as an inept copy of the first. The declaration is addressed the General Director of the BNR, the parliamentary Committee for Television, Radio and the BTA and the parliamentary Culture Committee. In its central evening newscast National Television reported that Prosecutor General Ivan Tatarchev today once again approached the Constitutional Court on the status of the national media - the BNR, the Bulgarian National Television and BTA with the request to overrule a parliamentary decision of October 1995 restoring the rights of the parliamentary Radio, Television and BTA Committee to exercise control over the national electronic media, despite a previous ruling of the Constitutional Court.

[04] UDF ACCUSES CABINET OF IMPOSING INFORMATION BLACKOUT

Sofia, November 28 (BTA) - Taking decisions on matters of national importance in an atmosphere of secrecy turned into a habit for the cabinet of [Prime Minister] Zhan Videnov, with the public being either misinformed or kept totally ignorant of what is happening, the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) says in a declaration released today. The declaration was adopted at today's regular sitting of the operative leadership of the UDF, which is this country's major opposition formation. The declaration dwells on several specific cases. It starts by quoting controversial statements of the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers on the problems with bread grain and Bulgaria's grain balance. The Prime Minister is quoted as saying the cabinet has cleared the export of a total of 600,000 tonnes of wheat while the Minister of Agriculture claimed only 455,000 tonnes were exported legally while another 120,000 tonnes went abroad illegally. Now bread prices are soaring by the day and nobody is even trying to find an explanation for it. The UDF believes the truth about the grain problem is kept secret for Bulgarians. In a view of this it proposes that a commission of inquiry be set up with Parliament to find out what has actually been produced this year, how much has been exported and how much is left. The declaration further reveals the issue of an order by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Processing Industry that all decisions of municipal land commissions be reviewed and amended, and the land vacated under the amended decisions enter the state-owned land stock. The UDF says this order was not publicized, its actual goal being to stop the land reform.

The declaration also dwells on the parliamentary debates on Bulfon, a Bulgarian-Greek joint venture in telecoms. The cabinet refuses to provide an explanation for the purpose of, and terms for the setting up of Bulfon which the UDF sees as an obvious violation on Bulgarian national interests. The UDF further protests against the fact that 28 days after local elections were held, the Haskovo district governor have not summoned the municipal council of Kurdjali, Southern Bulgaria. The declaration says that challenging the election results in Kurdjali does not provide an excuse for this delay. In all of the above cases, the cabinet of Zhan Videnov either tried to withhold the problems from the mass media and the public or manipulated them, the declaration reads adding that "the protest of National Radio journalists against censorship is the most telling fact." 53 journalists of the National Radio last week signed a letter of protest against censorship at the National Radio and got the support of President Zhelyu Zhelev. The UDF will use all legal and democratic means to demand from the incumbents complete and uncensored coverage of the activity of the government and other state institutions, and provide access to this information for each and every one, the declaration further goes.

[05] BUSINESS CONTACTS WITH COUNTRIES OF FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

Sofia, November 28 (Ekaterina Kazassova of BTA) - The Official Gazette today published a government ordinance on the lifting of the sanctions against former Yugoslavia. It revokes 10 other ordinances the government has adopted in the 1992-94 period to introduce bans, restrictions of special requirements for Bulgaria's business contacts with countries of the former Yugoslavia. The only ban to stay in effect is that on delivery of arms, ammunitions and military equipment to the former Yugoslav republics. The new cabinet ordinance regulates the normalization of trade between Bulgaria and former Yugoslavia after a several years' disruption, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Foreign Economic Cooperation Kiril Tsochev. Furthermore, it will put an end to the so called "suitcase trade" that replaced normal trade contacts in the recent years, Tsochev also said. However, the normalization of trade will not be accomplished quickly, according to Kiril Tsochev. He believes the sides should first prepare the legal groundwork for bilateral trade. With a view to this a Bulgarian delegation led by Tsochev himself will visit Belgrade on December 11-12. The Deputy Prime Minister said the visit has long ago been arranged at government level. He also said he was mandated by the Bulgarian government two months to hold high-level talks with the Yugoslav side. The delegation will include many Bulgarian businessmen who will seek to establish business contacts with Yugoslav companies. What Yugoslav companies need most badly is raw materials, which Bulgaria cannot offer, according to Tsochev. However, Bulgaria can export oil products, chemicals and cigarettes. It can also deliver supplies for the UN forces on the territory of former Yugoslavia. And yet the most important thing for Bulgaria is to have a chance to participate in the reconstruction of its western neighbour, Tsochev said. Bulgaria should prepare for the conference of donor countries in Brussels on December 18 and 19. The forum is of great political importance for this country, Tsochev stressed. At the conference, Bulgaria should promote aggressively its goods and potential if it wants to attract funds from European and world institutions. Even more important will be a subsequent meeting in Brussels expected to adopt a decision on the reconstruction of infrastructure in the countries of former Yugoslavia. No intensification of traffic via the Bulgaria-Serb border has been reported so far, General Customs Directorate chief Hristo Koulishev told an interviewer of the National Radio. According to Koulishev this is explicable as the normalization of ties between the two countries will take some time. He said the Kalotina check point is ready to handle a busier traffic but to ensure efficient services the staff of the check point will be increased by 130 officers, Koulishev said.

[06] KREMIKOVTSI METALLURGICAL PLANT TURNS TO LATIN AMERICA

Sofia, November 28 (BTA) - The new management of the Kremikovtsi metallurgical plant, near Sofia, today met the Sofia- based Ambassadors of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela and the Charge d'Affaires of Colombia, Peru and Cuba. The Kremikovtsi managers asked the diplomats' assistance for supply of cheaper imported raw materials and expansion of the commercial exchange with the above countries. Kremikovtsi is Bulgaria's biggest metallurgical plant whose output has been rising persistently over the past three years by an average annual of 30%. In 1992 the plant adopted an export-oriented model of economic development. In the first half of 1995, 55% of the output went for export, as the share was as much as 70% for the principal metallurgical products - rolled ferrous metals and products thereof. The new management was appointed in October this year. 35% of the supplies of iron ore and carbonized coal for Kremikovtsi now come from Latin America. Kremikovtsi can increase the orders for raw materials if prices go down, journalists were told by Georgi Harizanov, Chairman of the Kremikovtsi Board of Directors. The diplomats pledged to see that Kremikovtsi gets more offers by March 1996, the expiry date for effective contacts. According to Harizanov, coal will continue to be supplied by middlemen. Some 25% of the foreign trade of Kremikovtsi is now effected by the Multigroup economic conglomerate, he said. Kremikovtsi expects to receive 34 million leva from the State Fund for Reconstruction and Development. The money will go for the switching on of a line for continuous casting. The new equipment will introduce a cheaper technology that will push down the price of the end product.

[07] BUSINESS PRESS

Sofia, November 28 (BTA) - A joint review mission of the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank on the projects for financing the telecommunications will arrive tomorrow in Sofia, the financial "Pari" daily writes. The international bankers will inspect the finances of the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company in the first nine months of the year. They will also discuss the company's rate policy and the preparation of its tender offers for the realization of communications development projects, financed by the international institutions.

Bulgaria will find good markets for its chemical products, pharmaceutical substances, fuels, oils, construction materials and metals, once the embargo on Serbia and Montenegro is lifted, Mr Minko Gerdjikov, head of "Southeastern Europe" Department with the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Cooperation is quoted as saying in "Novinar". Bulgaria will seek to restore and expand joint and cooperative manufactures, which have long attracted the businessmen in the conflict-stricken territories in former Yugoslavia, Mr Gerdjikov says.

"The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is responsible for the failure of the Project Neva of the company for Disc Storage Memory Devices (DZU) in Stara Zagora (Southern Bulgaria) and of all high-tech projects in Bulgaria," says Ognyan Pishev, former Chairman of the DZU's board of directors and ex-Bulgarian ambassador to the U.S. in "Troud". In his view, the new management of the DZU is ready to transfer all the technical documentation to California which is going to create a much more serious scandal than the allegations of CD-piracy against Bulgaria.

A persistent financial deficit has restricted to a minimum the production capacities of the coal mines, "Demokratsiya" says, quoting expert estimates. The power engineering companies lose an average of several hundred levs from every tonne of solid fuel they sell to the citizens (1 USD currently exchanges for 69.747 levs). Due to the severe shortage of coal, particularly in Sofia, it has been planned that the supplies be made under a special schedule, the report says.

[08] JAPAN, BULGARIA: INDUSTRY MINISTER VOUCHEV'S

Vouchev met with the Presidents of Japan International Cooperation Agency and Japan International Development Organization, as well as with the chairman of Marubeni Corporation. The sides discussed prospects for cooperation in different areas.

[09] BULGARIAN CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF LEAVES FOR SWITZERLAND

[10] TUESDAY NEWS BRIEFS

Sofia, November 28 (BTA) - US Ambassador to Bulgaria William Montgomery visited the city of Blagoevgrad (Southwestern Bulgaria) today to meet its new mayor Kostadin Paskalev. Speaking to journalists, Ambassador Montgomery stressed the importance of cooperation with the local authorities of the city which is the seat of the American University in Bulgaria.

Today Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Foreign Economic Cooperation Kiril Tsochev received the newly appointed Mongolian ambassador to Bulgaria Cerendashiin Colomon, the Government press office said. The meeting discussed a wide range of issues of bilateral relations paying special attention to the settlement of the debts between the two countries. The Bulgarian side insisted on the settling of the problem of Mongolia's 7.5 million transferrable roubles as soon as possible. The two sides also exchanged information on the drafting of agreements on reciprocal investment promotion and protection and avoiding double taxation and the setting up of joint ventures between the two countries, the Government press release says.

Today Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Foreign Economic Cooperation Kiril Tsochev received Albanian Ambassador here Xhelal Tahiri, the Government press office said. Tsochev wished the Albanian people peace and success in connection with the national day of that country November 28. The two sides exchanged opinions on the possibilities for deepening business contacts between the two countries above all in commercial exchange. The two sides also informed each other of the progress in the drafting of agreements on avoiding double taxation and other agreements in the economic sphere.

Today Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Foreign Economic Cooperation Kiril Tsochev received Indonesian Ambassador to Bulgaria Samsu Bahri Siregar, the Government press office said. The meeting discussed the forthcoming session of the Bulgarian-Indonesian Joint Commission for Economic, Industrial, Trade and Technological Cooperation due to be held in January 1996, the Government press release says.

Sofia Mayor Stefan Sofiyanski met today with senior executives of the International Investment Bank with whom he discussed possibilities for investment into public transport and sewerage, the press office of the Sofia City Council said.

Today's session of the Constitutional Court which was to hear a claim filed by MPs of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and coalition was adjourned. The MPs insist that the Constitutional Court declare unconstitutional a clause of the Act Restoring Ownership over Nationalized Immovable Property.

At its regular session today the Executive Bureau of the Supreme Council of the BSP analyzed the results of the local elections and the emerging social and political tendencies, BSP Spokesperson Klara Marinova said at the Socialists' regular briefing today. Though at a lower level, the results of the local elections show support for the Socialists and their coalition partners and are an extension of their mandate to rule, the BSP top leadership concluded. Controlling three quarters of the municipalities, the BSP has increased its influence and hence its responsibility in ruling this country, the Socialists believe. They also discussed interaction between the central and the local authorities.

The performance of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF, of the ethnic Turks) in the local elections can be described as a success. This was the main conclusion of today's joint session of the top leadership of the MRF and its parliamentary group, announced by MRF leader Ahmed Dogan after the session. "The MRF has mayors in 26 municipalities, against the initially projected 23, which we believe to be a major success," Dogan told journalists. Local cooperation with the Union of Democratic Forces and the Popular Union is also considered an important achievement. According to Dogan, the opposition has gained momentum.

Personal conflicts in the leadership of the MRF can be solved only at the national conference of the MRF, scheduled for the spring of 1996, Dogan said.

The next presidential elections (due in January 1997) will be difficult and delicate for all political forces, MRF leader Ahmed Dogan told journalists today. Dogan explained the early launch of the campaign with the fact that they will be a major contest between the political forces in Bulgaria. President Zhelyu Zhelev enjoys high international and national prestige and the opposition will make a grave mistake if it fails to take this fact into account, Dogan said. The MRF has not decided yet whom to support in the presidential elections.

The nomination of a single candidate of the opposition is the most important condition for its success, Dogan said.

The Nationwide Committee in Defence of National Interests, led by Roumen Vodenicharov, and the Nationwide Committee in Defence of National Interests led by Dobromir Zadgorski, demand the cancelling of dual nationality. At their regular news conferences today Vodenicharov and Zadgorski stressed the threats posed by the dual nationality granted to Bulgarian immigrants in Turkey in the process of privatization.

The Fatherland Party of Labour (FPL) will nominate its own candidate for the presidential elections, FPL leader Mincho Minchev said today. He stressed that the FPL will not support any other candidate.

The new, eighth generating unit of the Maritsa Iztok thermo- electric power station was switched to the grid in the early morning hours, the BTA local correspondent in Stara Zagora (Southern Bulgaria) reported, citing sources of Maritsa Iztok. The necessary trials have been completed and the new facilities are expected to start operating at full capacity by the end of this week.

A special police unit for protecting the forests and part of the water basins was set in Kurdjali (Southern Bulgaria). It is the first in its kind in Bulgaria. The unit will guard forests against illegal lumbering and poaching, the local BTA correspondent reported today.

Next year at least 30% of the guests staying at Intercontinental - Sofia will be Bulgarian, Christian Fuchs, Director General of the hotel, told a news conference today. The news conference presented the hotel's new team of managers.

The General Assembly of the Foundation for Environmental Education in Europe Domburg, the Netherlands, accepted the Bulgarian "Blue Flag" movement as its full member with a one year trial period, the Committee of Tourism announced today. According to the Committee of Tourism not a single Eastern European state has been awarded the "Blue Flag", guaranteeing the ecological stability of seaside and mountain resorts. Early this year the Foundation awarded several Bulgarian Black Sea resorts with the Blue Flag.