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News from Bulgaria / Jan 29, 96From: bulgaria@access1.digex.net (Embassy of Bulgaria)Bulgarian Telegraph Agency DirectoryEMBASSY OF BULGARIA - WASHINGTON D.C.BTA - BULGARIAN TELEGRAPH AGENCYBULLETIN OF NEWS FROM BULGARIACONTENTS[01] KARSTEN VOIGT: "I BELIEVE IN NATO'S EASTWARD EXPANSION"[02] COUNCIL OF MINISTERS CONSIDERS FOREIGN POLICY ISSUES[03] PM ABOUT SAFETY OR FOREIGN DIPLOMATS IN BULGARIA[04] ZHAN VIDENOV'S GOVERNMENT: ONE YEAR IN OFFICE MINISTERS MEET THE PRESS[05] ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT[06] SOCIAL SPHERE[07] SECURITY[08] DEPUTY PM ROUMEN GECHEV RECEIVES WORLD BANK MISSION[09] BUSINESS PRESS[10] BUSINESS NEWS BRIEFS[11] CHINESE DIPLOMAT AND HIS WIFE ATTACKED[12] WRITER STEFAN DICHEV DIES[01] KARSTEN VOIGT: "I BELIEVE IN NATO'S EASTWARD EXPANSION"Sofia, January 27 (BTA) - "I believe in NATO's eastward expansion and I hope it will be realized in close cooperation with Russia," President of the North Atlantic Parliamentary Assembly, German Social Democrat Karsten Voigt said in an interview, broadcast on radio Deutsche Welle in its programme in Bulgarian today. "This, however, depends on Russia itself. In any case, NATO's invitation for cooperation remains in force," Voigt added.Asked if Bulgaria stands chances of joining NATO, Mr Voigt said that this largely depends on Bulgaria itself. "As far as I understood, there is a consensus between the Government and the opposition in Bulgaria on this country's closer integration into the North Atlantic structures. Does this mean membership in NATO? May be for some it does, for others, it does not. So far, however, I have seen no official application for membership in NATO by the Bulgarian Government. I know a number of politicians, some of which belonging to the ruling party, who support Bulgaria's membership in NATO. Judging by the general wording, stating willingness for integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures, however, I cannot say, if I have to be precise, that the ruling party directly and urgently wants membership in NATO. It [the ruling party] is still questioning the issue and, to my mind, the issue is more complicated in Bulgaria than in Romania, Hungary or Poland, said the President of NATO's Parliamentary Assembly, who in June, 1995 paid a visit to Sofia. According to Mr Voigt, Greece and Turkey would not oppose a possible Bulgarian membership in NATO. "On the contrary, my colleagues from the ministries and parliaments in these states have been telling me as a representative of Germany not to think about Poland alone, but to consider also Southeastern Europe, Bulgaria and Romania. And I believe that we should not let these states out of sight. The issue, however, as I already said, depends on these states alone," Mr Voigt said in the interview. Asked if the Bulgarian army is in position to be integrated into NATO, Mr Voigt said that this may be done in phases and even be accompanied by certain disarmament. "You will not need to update all units in the army, but only those, connected, for instance, with the communications equipment and with the air forces," Mr Voigt said. In his view, the phased integration into NATO may take a long time and its purpose will not be to provide protection against a foreign enemy, but to align step by step the new armies with the Euro-Atlantic and the European structures. Asked about his view on the aspirations of the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party to be admitted into the Socialist International, Mr Voigt said that the party has started in that direction, but that there is a long way yet to go. He said that he knows BSP members who are confirmed Social Democrats, but that there are others for whom this description does not apply. Mr Voigt also said that he truly believes in the dialogue between the similar parties in Eastern Europe and in the Socialist International. [02] COUNCIL OF MINISTERS CONSIDERS FOREIGN POLICY ISSUESSofia, January 28 (BTA) - The Council of Ministers held an extraordinary closed meeting today. On the agenda were foreign policy issues and aspects of Bulgaria's policy in the Balkans, the Government's press office said. The Government approved the term of the Bulgarian Governmental delegation to depart tomorrow for Brussels for the second meeting of the EU-Bulgaria Association Council which was set up under the Europe Agreement establishing association between the EU and Bulgaria. The second meeting of the EU-Bulgaria Association Council on January 30 in Brussels will discuss the bilateral relations under the Europe Agreement, a strategy for the country's association, regional cooperation and security issues. The Bulgarian delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Georgi Pirinski. The extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers considered the suggestion of the Committee of Posts and Telecommunications for setting new fixed prices for home and foreign post and telecommunications services. The Council of Ministers also discussed the suggestion of the Pricing Committee for fixing limit prices for liquid fuels and natural gas, the news release of the Cabinet's press office says and specifies that decisions on the discussed matters will be taken at a later stage. According to the Cabinet's press office, the meeting was attended by all Cabinet members, with the exception of Industry Minister Kliment Vouchev for health reasons.[03] PM ABOUT SAFETY OR FOREIGN DIPLOMATS IN BULGARIASofia, January 26 (BTA) - "Crime rates in Bulgaria have tended down since late 1993. Crime dropped 7.5% in 1995. However, this is a poor consolation, with crime remaining unacceptably high and public tolerance waning. We can accept nothing less than a sharp plunge, as citizens, politicians and statesmen," Prime Minister Zhan Videnov said during his question time in the National Assembly, in answer to a question by Yordan Sokolov MP of the largest opposition Union of Democratic Forces.Sokolov recalled incidents with two foreign diplomats in Sofia in mid-January, asking the Premier if "he realized and admitted the Government's failure to ensure the safety not only of Bulgarian citizens but also of foreign diplomats." "Don't you think there is a need for a thorough overhaul of the Interior Ministry which has proved its inability to counter crime," the MP asked. On January 11 three unidentified attackers severely beat Chinese military attache in Sofia Jin Qi Chang. In the diplomatic contacts that followed, the Chinese side expressed understanding and willingness to wait for the findings of the official investigation, said Videnov. During a quarrel in a Sofia restaurant on January 19, Bulgarian Georgi Pehlivanov pushed Czech Ambassador Petr Pospihal with his hand, the Premier recalled. The Czech Embassy said it will not report the incident to the competent authorities along diplomatic channels, dismissing it as negligible. Already at the beginning of its term in office a year ago the coalition of the Democratic Left (the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the Alexander Stamboliyski Bulgarian Agrarian National Union and the Ecoglasnost Political Club) set urgent measures to combat crime as its priority in 1995-1996, the Prime Minister said. Combatting crime is not only a problem of the Ministry of the Interior but requires broad public consensus and talk about a replacement of the Ministry of the Interior is pure lipservice. The left wing immediately proceeded with the implementation of the planned measures for cracking down on crime, paying special attention to the security of representatives of diplomatic missions in Bulgaria, Videnov said. Fifty-eight diplomatic representations are guarded by 300 soldiers of the Interior Troops round-the-clock, the Prime Minister said. Five attempts at breaking into diplomatic missions and three attempts at thieving cars of official diplomatic representatives of foreign states in Bulgaria have been intercepted, the Prime Minister added. Following tip-offs of possible terroristic acts the Interior Troops tightened security around the missions in Bulgaria of the US, Turkey, Egypt, Algeria and other countries for different periods of time, the Prime Minister also said. Unfortunately incidents like the one in Sofia two weeks ago happen everywhere, Videnov said citing the murder of a Bulgarian national in front of the door of the Bulgarian Embassy in Washington last year. "However, it is rare that a country makes a scandal on such occasions and refuses to accept the data of the official investigation and I am totally unaware of any cases in which such incidents are used by politicians to denigrate their own country as is the present case," the Prime Minister said commenting on Sokolov's interpellation. [04] ZHAN VIDENOV'S GOVERNMENT: ONE YEAR IN OFFICE MINISTERS MEET THE PRESSSofia, January 26 (Ekaterina Kazassova of BTA) - Prime Minister Zhan Videnov assessed in positive terms the one-year performance of his Government. One year after his first Cabinet meeting, he and his ministers gave a special news conference to sum up their work during their first year in office. In late February, the ruling Democratic Left coalition is to release a general political assessment of the year-long cabinet tenure. The summing-up will be specified in the law-making programme of the MPs of the Socialist-led coalition and the Cabinet's tenure programme for 1996, the head of government said. According to Mr Videnov, assessments of the Government's performance should take into account the fact that it took office in conditions of an unprecedented economic crisis, a dramatic shrinkage of production, a collapsing financial system, abandoned markets etc. The Prime Minister focussed on three highlights in the Government's performance: economic development, the people's social condition, and security.[05] ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTMr Videnov said that 1995 showed the best macroeconomic indicators in five years. This assessment is shared by the international financial institutions, he added. He described as a "success" the fulfilment of the Government's crisis-management programme. He reported that in almost all macroeconomic indicators, 1995 outperformed 1994. A more active monetary policy implemented with better coordination between the Government and the central bank, tightened control over the operation of the state-owned commercial banks, a stable exchange rate bound with a moderate budget deficit: all these factors brought the inflation rate to a quarter of the previous level, the Prime Minister emphasized. He expects 1996 inflation at approximately 20 - 25 per cent. The lowering of the base interest rate from 72 to 34 per cent p.a. created favourable conditions for a start of economic recovery, the PM said. The increase in exports and a trade surplus of 500 million US dollars contributed to economic growth. The gross domestic product grew 2.5 per cent in 1995 and is expected to exceed 3 per cent this year, Mr Videnov predicts. The country's official foreign-exchange reserves have reached 1,300 million US dollars, and foreign-currency deposits total 2,100 million US dollars.[06] SOCIAL SPHEREThe Government is conducting a nationally responsible policy, the Prime Minister said, assessing the changes in people's social condition as "hope-inspiring." The jobless total decreased by 65,000 in 1995 and is now down to 420,000, or 11.11 per cent of the labour force. One hundred and thirty thousand jobs were created during the year. This prompts a projection that by the end of its term in office, the Government will manage to halve the unemployment rate. The average pension increased 8.8 per cent from 1994. The erosion of wages has been reduced to a tenth of the previous level. Income in the material sphere has grown 5.7 per cent, the Prime Minister said, dismissing criticism at the Government's incomes policy. At the same time, he noted that wages in the state-financed sphere are lagging behind and that the overall level of income does not provide decent living to large social groups. "This shows, however, that we are pursuing an incomes policy within the country's actual capabilities and bound with the policy of reform and financial stabilization," the head of government said.[07] SECURITY"Guaranteeing national security and fighting crime faced the Government with a more complicated task than we expected," Mr Videnov observed. In his assessment, the growth of crime has reached the limit, and the situation in Bulgaria is similar to the situation in all post-socialist countries. The clear-up rate of crime has increased 2.5 per cent, and the incidence of crime has decreased by 7.5 per cent, Interior Minister Lyubomir Nachev added. Both singled out as a major problem the fact that 80 per cent of crimes go unpunished, even such that are solved and referred to the law courts. "We cannot be happy with the delay of the adoption of a national programme for counteraction of crime, with the inaction of the prosecutor's office and with the lack of control in its work," the Prime Minister stressed. He is also dissatisfied with the slow achievement of positive results in this area. Mr Videnov declined to grade his Cabinet's performance according to the six-point scale used in Bulgarian education, saying that he is not the right person to assess his own performance. He identified the lack of people willing to work with an almost dismantled state machine as the weakest point of the one-year tenure. Asked whether further cabinet changes are forthcoming, the Prime Minister said that the problems cannot be solved by unending reshuffles. Still, he did not rule out the possibility of changes - provided that an analysis of past performance invites the conclusion that they are necessary.The performance of the Zhan Videnov Cabinet during its first year in office will be discussed at a news conference, which President Zhelyu Zhelev will give next week, the President's Press Centre said today. [08] DEPUTY PM ROUMEN GECHEV RECEIVES WORLD BANK MISSIONSofia, January 26 (BTA) - At a meeting today Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development Roumen Gechev and the World Bank mission agreed that certain differences between the Bulgarian experts and the bank representatives should not postpone the signing of a financial agreement between Bulgaria and this institution, reads a press release of the Council of Ministers. The World Bank mission arrived here Monday to review its projects in Bulgaria.The tiny differences between the Bulgarian Government and the World Bank experts pertain mainly to the pace of privatization and state financial assistance and refunding of the commercial banks, says the press release. The World Bank experts recommend that, which is already set in the objectives of the Government macroeconomic policy, Gechev stated at the meeting. During the talks the World Bank experts familiarized Deputy Prime Minister Gechev with the highlights of the World Bank report on Bulgaria, which is to be drawn up, namely, the pace of privatization and financial discipline in Bulgarian financial and economic institutions. [09] BUSINESS PRESSSofia, January 26 (BTA) - A mission of the International Monetary Fund will visit Bulgaria once again in February, "Standart News" writes. The team of experts will be headed by Anne McGuirk, Mission leader for Bulgaria since the end of last year.The mission will discuss a fourth Stand-by Agreement with Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Government is already negotiating with alternative creditors if the agreements with the IMF and the World Bank are not signed, this daily writes. The World Bank completed its four-day mission to Bulgaria led by Kenet Lay, "Pari" writes. This was a fact-finding mission, Mr Lay said, according to this daily. The two sides discussed Bulgaria's economic achievements and plans within the framework of the three-year credit strategy of the World Bank, "Pari" adds. Bulgarian foreign debt Brady bonds registered record high levels on the international debts instruments market, the dailies report. All units of the hotel part of the Sofia Sheraton Hotel were awarded five stars by the Committee of Tourism, "Douma" writes, citing the Committee. The licensing of restaurateur businesses is continuing, "Douma" writes. There are technical disputes around the forthcoming test of the metal casing of the first reactor at the Kozlodoui N-plant, "24 Chassa" writes, citing the National Electricity Company. Izido Lopez Arcos of the European Union, and representatives of the Russian Gidropress constructor and the Korchatovsk Atomic Institutes of Russia are currently holding negotiations. Bulgarian energy departments are also taking part in the discussions. These negotiations are to decide the size of the template to be taken from the metal casing in order to analyze its strength, "24 Chassa" also writes. This daily adds that the life of the reactor depends on this operation. By the end of January Bulgarian River Lines will register its branch at Port Ravensbruk, Germany, the Lines' Director, Dimiter Stanchev, told "Douma". The purpose is to preserve the presence of the Bulgarian River Lines in the Upper Danube after the Bulgarlloid Bulgarian German joint venture froze its participation there in the wake of the bankruptcy of the German Bavarski Lloyd company. The largest Turkish electrical household appliances holding - Koc Holding, and its Bulgarian partner - Elidis, are planning to extend their sales in Bulgaria, "Troud" writes. The State Fund for Reconstruction and Development has granted USD 170 million to Bulgarian industry, "24 Chassa" writes, citing Industry Minister Kliment Vouchev. The funds were granted in 1995 but will be used now. The Kremikovtsi metallurgical combined works received the greatest credit - USD 34 million, for a new continuous steel casting installation. [10] BUSINESS NEWS BRIEFSSofia, January 28 (BTA) - Bulgartabac in Shoumen manufactures 28 t of cigarettes a day for export, company manager Vassil Karov said. According to Mr Karov the company exports 96 per cent of its production mostly to Russia, Ukraine and Moldova. Kenton, Opal, Rodopi, Styuardesa and BT are the brands best preferred in these states. The regaining of the old markets will have a positive effect on the cigarette production in Bulgaria, Mr Karov projects.A framework cooperation agreement was signed in Haskovo (Southern Bulgaria) between the Dutch company Van der Plug International and the local Deniker company. The firms will cooperate in the realization of projects in the manufacture and processing of milk products for the Bulgarian market and for exports. A joint venture in animal growing has been planned to start operating before the end of June, 1997. The local agriculture service will offer cooperation in providing a suitable cattle farm for 1,000-2,000 animals which will be reconstructed and furnished in conformity with the European standards by the Deniker company. The Dutch partners will provide pedigree animals for the farm. Four types of a new generation colour TV sets of the Veliko Turnovo family will be on 1996 production programme of the Bitova Elektronika company in Veliko Turnovo (Northern Bulgaria). The TV sets feature a unified electronic circuit and come out in two versions depending on the availability of a teletext service. The new types of sets offer better reliability and longer guarantee. Certain components have been developed in cooperation with leading foreign and home companies and the kinescopes are made by Thompson and Samsung. The company has planned to manufacture 20,000 sets by the end of the year. An up-to-date depot for hard household waste will be constructed near the town of Vratsa (Northwestern Bulgaria). The first stage of the construction will be worth 360,000 US dollars. The U.S. Institute for Sustainable Development of Municipalities will finance part of the project. The first Bulgarian catalytic converter for petrol-run cars will be manufactured by the Odessos single merchant company in Varna (on the Black Sea). Experts of the Institute of Organic and Non-organic Chemistry with the Bulgarian Academy of Science assisted in the development of the filter. The German company Doduko supplied vital components for the filter. The first filters will probably be assembled on cars, servicing the Black Sea resort complexes. Kamenina company of Pleven (Northern Bulgaria) will export for Bosnia and Herzegovina between 80,000 and 100,000 linear metres of pipes, company manager Yordan Yordanov said. In 1996 the company will export 50 per cent of its output which was so far used by the Bulgarian construction companies alone. The former military electronics works in Shoumen, Shoumela has launched the production of articles which find application in medicine, postal services and the military field. The company is negotiating exports of this type of production to Russia. After a 5-year break the company has also restored some of its military production. The World Bank granted a 14 million US dollar loan to the Water and Sewage company in Pleven (Northern Bulgaria), Manager Tseko Lishkovski told BTA. The funds will be used for projects expected to have important environmental effect, reducing water wastes and for the reconstruction of the outdated water pipeline network. This year the bank's loan was used for the construction of gas facilities for waste waters in the village of Bozhouritsa, near Pleven, for plants for treatment of drinking water and for sewage collectors near Pleven. In the second quarter of the year the World Bank will hold a tender for subcontractors on the projects who will be selected among Bulgarian and foreign companies. [11] CHINESE DIPLOMAT AND HIS WIFE ATTACKEDSofia, January 28 (BTA) - At about 8 p.m. yesterday in downtown Sofia the first secretary of the Chinese Embassy in Sofia Li Chun Sheng and his wife were assaulted by unknown persons, the National Television said tonight, quoting the Ministry of the Interior. The two victims were hospitalized and later released from the hospital without serious injuries. The motive for the attack has yet to be clarified. This is the second assault this month against a Chinese diplomat. About a fortnight ago unknown attackers beat down the Chinese military attache. In connection with the cases of attacks and other Xenophobic acts which have recently become more frequent, the Sofia Directorate of the Interior appealed today to the citizens to cooperate police in their investigations.[12] WRITER STEFAN DICHEV DIESSofia, January 28 (BTA) - The well-known writer Stefan Dichev, whose 75th birthday was celebrated by the Bulgarian cultural community this month, died here today. Playwright and scriptwriter Stefan Dichev wrote also a number of novels for children and adolescents. He is however best known to the public with his historical novels "For Freedom", "The Road to Sofia," "Rakovski's Youth". The last volume of his trilogy on Alexander of Macedonia "Conqueror of Mirages", which he began to write 30 years ago, has yet to be published. This trilogy could not be published during the totalitarian regime because of the historical parallels that the author made between the manifestations of the cult for the personality in the conditions of various societies and cultures. Dichev was a versatile person, a law expert and doctor of political sciences. He was also the founder and long-time editor-in-chief of the popular science magazine "Cosmos", one of the top circulation periodicals at the time. In his capacity as director of the most prestigious publishing house for fiction "Narodna Kultura", Stefan Dichev initiated the publication of the elite series "World Classics". Stefan Dichev received a number of honourable titles, orders and premiums and had been elected secretary of the Bulgarian Pen-Club and member of the governing board of the Union of Bulgarian Writers. |
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