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News from Bulgaria, 96-06-28Bulgarian Telegraph Agency Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Embassy of Bulgaria <bulgaria@access1.digex.net>EMBASSY OF BULGARIA - WASHINGTON D.C.BTA - BULGARIAN TELEGRAPH AGENCY28 June, 1996CONTENTS
[01] BOUTROS-GHALI INVITED TO MINISTERIAL MEETING IN SOFIASofia, June 27 (BTA) - Yesterday Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Irina Bokova met with Alvaro de Soto, UN Under-Secretary- General for political affairs at the UN headquarters in New York, reads a Foreign Ministry press release. Bokova conveyed an invitation from Foreign Minister Georgi Pirinski to UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to take part in the Southeast European foreign ministers' meeting due in Sofia from July 6 through July 7. The two sides exchanged opinions on the nature and goals of the Bulgarian initiative, the activation of the efforts to strengthen cooperation and the implementation of the Dayton agreement.Alvaro de Soto praised Bulgarian Government's initiative for a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Southeast European countries and voiced the United Nation's support for it. He assured the Bulgarian side that the UN will send a representative and a message by the UN Secretary General to the participants will be delivered at the meeting, the press release says. [02] PRESIDENT ZHELEV CONSULTS OPPOSITION ON YESTERDAY'S ELECTION OF MAGISTRATESSofia, June 27 (BTA) - Today Bulgarian President Zhelyu Zhelev received Justice Minister Mladen Chervenyakov. "I came to familiarize the President with my stand on yesterday's election of presidents of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court and deliver it in writing, before the President exercises his constitutional powers," Chervenyakov said, referring to the candidates' possible appointment by a presidential decree. According to Chervenyakov, the appointments are politically motivated. Noone is denying that, he said, citing as an example the President's consultations today with all parliamentary parties except the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party, which according to him show a search for a political solution.The Supreme Judicial Council met yesterday to elect presidents of the yet unconstituted Supreme Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court. Justice Minister Mladen Chervenyakov, who by law chairs the Supreme Judicial Council in a non-voting capacity, challenged the validity of the election and described the meeting as a "farce prompted by political considerations." The elections were held long after Mr Chervenyakov left the chair and the room and announced he had declared the meeting closed. "What is going on exceeds all normal ways of evaluating candidates," he told reporters. The Minister added that the rules of procedure of the Council, under which it should appoint a commission to consider the candidates, had been ignored. President Zhelyu Zhelev today began a series of consultations with the parliamentary opposition in connection with yesterday's election. Representatives of the opposition Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF, the ethnic Turks' party) said after the meeting the MRF supported the elections in principle, but "would like to ask a few questions about some of the candidates". Meeting with Zhelev, Alexander Jerov, a leader of the opposition Popular Union, expressed a personal opinion that the building of the respective structures should precede the election of their leaders, unless the Supreme Judicial Council believes in the need to urge Parliament, the Cabinet and the Ministry of Justice to speed up debates on procedural laws deposited already in the former 36th National Assembly. The MPs of the Bulgarian Business Bloc (BBB) oppose the signing of decrees to appoint the candidates, citing the lack of statutory and procedural laws that would allow such a step. A BBB official said yesterday's decisions did not run counter to the Constitution. President Zhelev today also met with leaders of the parliamentary Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), to hear their opinion. According to UDF floor leader Yordan Sokolov, the election is totally constitutional and does not contradict the judiciary law. There are no reasons for the President not to sign decrees appointing the magistrates, Sokolov said. The thesis that this should be done after the passage of statutory and procedural laws is unconstitutional, he claimed. His argument was that the Constitution does not discuss the election of such magistrates and only says the cassation and administrative courts begin to operate after the passage of the laws in question. For an organization to begin to operate, it needs to be established first, the UDF floor leader said. Amendments to the judiciary act to be considered by Parliament tomorrow, which say the Supreme Judicial Council cannot elect magistrates to the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Supreme Judicial Court before the complete legal framework is in place, are an unsuccessful attempt at legislative interference with the judiciary, according to Sokolov. He said if Parliament passes the amendments tomorrow, the UDF may address the Constitutional Court, as the changes would actually replace a text in the Constitution. [03] PARLIAMENT AUTHORISES MILITARY EXERCISES ARRANGEMENTSSofia, June 27 (BTA) - Today Parliament authorised the participation of Bulgarian military in the Cooperative Chance '96 air exercises to be held within the framework of the Partnership for Peace plan in Hungary from July 19 through 27, 1996. The Bulgarian unit will consist of six servicemen and an An-26 transport plane with a six- member crew.The Bulgarian participation will play an important role for the country's more active integration of the Bulgarian Air Force in the Partnership for Peace plan, the sponsors said in their reasoning. The other countries taking part in it are Canada, France, Germany, the United States, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania. Parliament authorised the entry of foreign troops in the territory of Bulgaria for participation in the multinational ground exercise Cooperative Determination '96, due to be held in the area of Belene (Northern Bulgaria) from July 4 through 12, 1996. The exercise will be under the command of the staffs of NATO's Allied Forces Southern Europe and First Greek Army and the General Staff of the Bulgarian Army. The participating countries are Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Romania, Moldova, the United States and Malta. Its main purpose is to enhance operational compatibility of the armies of the Partnership for Peace member-countries and NATO in peacekeeping and humanitarian operations, the sponsors said in the reasoning. [04] TURKISH MILITARY DELEGATION TO VISIT BULGARIASofia, June 27 (BTA) - A Turkish military delegation, led by the Chief of General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, Army General Ismail Hakki Karadayi, will make an official visit to Bulgaria from June 30 to July 3, 1996, the Defence Ministry Press Office announced.The visit is at the invitation of the Chief of General Staff of the Bulgarian army Colonel General Tsvetan Totomirov, according to the annual cooperation plan between the two General Staffs. The sides will discuss issues of bilateral military cooperation and regional security. [05] BULGARIAN MILITARY DELEGATION ENDS VISIT TO YUGOSLAVIABelgrade, June 27 (BTA Correspondent Lyudmil Mitakev) "Why should not there be a hot line between Sofia and Belgrade? If it were up to my colleague, Lieutenant General Lubisa Velickovic, and me, we would implement the idea as soon as possible," Bulgarian Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Miho Mihov told BTA today. "In this way, we shall avoid a number of complications for the air force and the antiaircraft defence during inadvertent entering of each country's airspace. We agreed to report the issue to our commanders," said General Mihov at the end of the three-day official visit to Belgrade of a Bulgarian Air Force delegation.Today, General Mihov was received by the Yugoslav Army Chief of Staff Colonel General Momcilo Perisic and by Defence Minister Assistant Lieutenant General Radoica Kadievic. The Bulgarian and Yugoslav officials exchanged views on the developments on the Balkans and on the opportunities for the further promotion of the cooperation between the air force and antiaircraft defence within the framework of the documents signed by the two countries' defence ministries and general staffs. [06] AGRICULTURE MINISTER TRENDAFILOV RETURNS FROM LUXEMBOURGSofia, June 27 (BTA) - Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture and Food Processing Krustyo Trendafilov returned late last night from Luxembourg where he attended a meeting of agriculture ministers of EU-associated Central and Eastern European states with their EU colleagues. Minister Trendafilov told reporters that the discussions focused on two issues: competitiveness of the farm produce of EU- associated states and development of the rural regions.In his address to the forum Mr Trendafilov reported about the national programme for development of agriculture, as well as about Bulgaria's priorities in that field. He said that cooperation in agriculture should be among the priorities in the process of preparation for full EU membership. Minister Trendafilov raised the issue about providing financial support for restructuring of the sector and experts of the EU are expected to arrive in Bulgaria in early July to study the matter. [07] INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS DISCUSS BANKING PROBLEMSSofia, June 27 (BTA) _ The losses of the Bulgarian banking system amount to 30% of GDP, and the profits reported by some banks are illusionary, Stanley Silverberg, a World Bank consultant, today told an international conference on banking sector restructuring. The forum opened in Sofia yesterday. According to the consultant, the situation is Bulgaria is disastrous, similar to that in Mexico, and commercial bank insolvency is being underestimated.The World Bank expert recommended that insolvent banks are closed and an institution is set up to concentrate their assets as a single legal person. This would allow the banking system to continue to function and avert conflicts among banks holding bad debts of the same company. Foreign investment in the banking system should be encouraged, despite the fears of local bankers that they will not be competitive, according to Silverberg. Foreign banks will phase in western banking standards on the Bulgarian market, and have a beneficial impact over the long term, he believes. The difficulties to Bulgaria's banking sector are not unique in Central and Eastern Europe, said Geoffrey Russel, who works for auditors KPMG. The main problems to Bulgarian banks proceed from the too aggressive growth of their office networks and the lack of managerial experience, he thinks. The flexible combination of approaches- consolidation, rehabilitation using a hospital bank, recapitalization and foreign investment- is Russel's recipe for stabilization in the banking sector. [08] YUGOSLAVIA BACKS BULGARIAN INITIATIVE FOR FIGHTING CRIMEBelgrade, June 27 (BTA correspondent Lyudmil Mitakiev) The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia backs Bulgarian Justice Minister Mladen Chervenyakov's initiative for a common programme implemented by the countries in the region to combat crime. The initiative is very important, Yugoslav Justice Minister Vladimir Krivokapic said today at a meeting with Bulgarian Ambassador to Yugoslavia Georgi Yuroukov who stated Bulgaria's position on the problem.Minister Krivokapic expressed Belgrade's desire to join all Sofia- planned activities, both on bilateral and multilateral basis, aimed to curb crime in the region. Ambassador Yuroukov handed Minister Krivokapic an invitation to visit Sofia. [09] MCDRIVE OPENS IN SOFIASofia, June 27 (BTA) - A McDrive restaurant is opening in Sofia's residential complex of Lyulin today. This is the third outlet of the McDonald's fast food chain in Bulgaria (after one in Plovdiv, which opened in 1994, and another one in Sofia, which went into business half a year ago) and the first drive-in eatery nationwide. It took just three and a half months to build. High-quality products and service at a reasonable price in a clean place, the hallmarks of the McDonald's chain, will be characteristic of its latest addition as well, says Rossitsa Tsekina, Manager of McDonald's-Bulgaria. McDrive can service 80 cars an hour. Those who are not in a hurry can take their time, and there is a special playground for the kids. Location on the busy international highway to Serbia is an added advantage. Of the 4,900,000 US dollars which McDonald's has invested in Bulgaria so far, 1,400,000 million went into the construction of the new restaurant. A total of 400 new jobs have been created. For the time being, the restaurant imports most of its products. The veal comes from Hungary, and the Cheddar, the apple pie and the potatoes from Germany. Bulgarian companies supply the drinks, the milk mixes for the icecreams and the shakes, and the salads. Earlier this year the corporation unveiled an ambitious expansion programme, according to which it will be opening between 2,500 and 3,200 restaurants annually. Bulgaria will have four of them, which will bring the total to six at the end of 1996. The location of the next one has yet to be fixed, it will most probably be in Sofia, Varna or Rousse. According to the preliminary programme, 6 million dollars are to be invested in their construction. In the long term, 40 such restaurants are to open in Bulgaria's all major cities.[10] INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES TO HELP FISH- FARMINGSofia, June 27 (Ekaterina Kazassova of BTA) - Experts from IFREMER, a French institute for marine research, are studying the possibility of setting up fish-farming joint ventures. "They are in Bulgaria for the purpose of assessing the reserves of turbot and other marine species," Nikolai Kissyov, Head of the State Fishing Inspectorate, told BTA. "France has quite an experience in breeding turbot and can help us a lot in this respect," he said.The Japanese Government is also ready to provide assistance for the development of fish farming and aquacultures in Bulgaria - by making an assessment of their condition and the training of personnel. It is planned to fund individual projects for the construction of farms for breeding Rapana thomasiana and mussels. A project for the regeneration of inland aquaculture is being developed jointly with FAO. FAO provides methodological assistance in drafting fishing legislation, fish marketing, fishing statistics, fish processing, fish-breeding policies, etc. It is planned to draft a law on fish resources. According to Bulgarian experts, the help provided by their foreign counterparts is necessary to bring the relevant Bulgarian legistation into line with the international standards. Several investment subprojects will be implemented as part of the larger one. "The purpose is to attract Bulgarian and foreign investments to specific projects in Bulgaria," Mr Kissyov said. In his opinion, the farms for marine aquaculture offer good opportunities for the breeding of sea trout, salmon, conger-eel, mussels, freshwater shrimps and other species which are in great demand on the world marketr. It is planned to combine the implementation of these projects with the construction of modern facilities for marine products and supply the Bulgarian market with ready-to-cook and ready-to-serve sea foods. For the first time in 1995 the Ispectorate received accurate statistics about the reserves and the catch in the Danube and the Black Sea with the assistance of FAO. The British Know-how Fund shows interest in the implementation of a project for the management of water ecosystems in Bulgaria. A similar project has been carried out successfully in Romania for three years now. The purpose would be to assess fish reserves and genetic resources and outline the measures necessary to keep the biological balance. Statistics indicate that fish reserves in the Danube are stabilizing. In 1995 the fish caught in the river amounted to 850 t, which was three times more than the 1989 catch. About half of that quantity was bighead carp. For the first time in years there are categorical data bighead carp is reproducing naturally. According to experts, this is a sign that the overall condition of the environment of the Danube has improved as a result of reducing pollution. About 4,000 t of fish were caught in the Black Sea. Besides sprat, which accounts for the largest amount, fishers landed 600 t of goby, 100 t of turbot, 1,000 t of Rapana thomasiana, etc. There is a considerable decline in the catch of sturgeon in the Black Sea. To regenerate its populations, experts propose to ban sturgeon fishing for one or two years. [11] BUSINESS PRESSSofia, June 27 (BTA) - The financial and business daily "Pari" quotes the Governor of the National Bank of Bulgaria Lyubomir Filipov as ruling out the possibility of lowering the base interest rate from the current level of 108 per cent, considering the depreciation of the lev and the progress of inflation. Base interest will not be reduced before the first tranche of the stand-by arrangement with the IMF arrives, Mr Filipov added."24 Chassa" writes that 23 million ECU will come to the Bulgarian power industry, according to a financing memorandum under the PHARE Programme which the Cabinet will approve at its meeting today. Last autumn the EU suspended 7 million ECU earmarked in aid for 1995 after the G-7 demarche against the Kozlodoui Nuclear Power Plant's 440 MW Unit One. PHARE grants for this year total 6 million ECU. Another 10 million ECU are extra aid for testing of the controversial Unit One, which has been shut down for safety checks, the daily writes. Five million ECU are destined for the purchase of coal for the Varna Thermoelectric Power Station (Northeastern Bulgaria). The station will supply the power to meet demand in the winter unless Kozlodoui's Unit One is restarted. The European Commission will give full assistance to Bulgaria's overall energy programme together with EIB and EBRD. "24 Chassa" writes that negotiations are underway with the European consortium EURATOME on a 150 million ECU credit for updating of the 1,000 MW Units Five and Six of Kozlodoui. The other sectors will receive a total of 60 million ECU under the 1995 PHARE Programme memorandum, plus 23 million ECU for cross-border cooperation, the European Commission specified. The disbursement was delayed because the Bulgarian Government initialled the document only in October 1995, the story goes. Foreign investments in Bulgaria in January-March 1996 added up to 60 million US dollars. Considerably more are expected in the second quarter, "Pari" learnt from the President of the Foreign Investment Agency Daniela Bobeva. Major economic groups showed interest in Bulgaria, offering joint business in the light industry, subsoil resources prospecting (including gold and manganese), mineral water bottling etc. The dive of the lev against the dollar makes conditions in Bulgaria attractive for foreign investment, Mrs Bobeva said. [12] PROMINENT FILM DIRECTOR EDUARD ZAHARIEV DIEDSofia, June 27 (BTA) - Prominent Bulgarian film director Eduard Zhariev died after a brief illness, his family said today. On July 1, 1996 the winner of prizes at the film festivals in Varna, Locarno, Karlovy Vary, Teheran, Antwerp and Strasbourg was to turn 58."We part with a great artist that left an indelible imprint with his films showing the complicated social and moral transition of out society," an obituary signed by Deputy Minister of Culture Georgi Stoyanov says. "An outstanding talent left this world in the same way he lived - uncompromisingly, selfessly and painfully," the obituary reads in part. Eduard Zahariev graduated from the Film Academy in Budapest in 1961. The next year he made his debut with the documentary "Rails in the Sky". He made the feature films "Counting the Hares", "My Dear Lady, My Dear Man", "Summer-Cottage Area", "Men's Time", "A Nearly Love Story", ""Elegy" and a number of documentaries. The director recently completed the shooting of his film "Belated Full Moon". [13] LASER EYE CENTRE OPENS IN SOFIASofia, June 27 (BTA) - A laser eye centre opened in the Lozenets housing district in downtown Sofia earlier in the week. The centre is equipped with state-of-the-art eximer laser machine made by the U.S. Visex company.A private eye clinic with eximer laser equipment opened in the city of Ihtiman (near Sofia) in December 1995. A total of 450 successful myopia and astigmatism operations were performed in the clinic for six months alone. Similar centres elsewhere in the world perform about 200 operations annually. Bulgaria is the second Balkan country after Greece to open such a centre. Technically, there are no differences between the two clinics. The medical manager of the Ihtiman clinic Doctor Valentin Radev introduced his own method, unknown in the world practice. "I have named the method 'epitelorexis'; it is applied in the pre-laser stage of the operation and protects the eye tissue," Radev says. Doctors of the two clinics use computers to diagnose all types of eye illnesses. Professor Gougouchkova of the Sofia clinic said at the opening ceremony that such operations cure myopia up to six dioptres to 98 per cent, which is considered an absolute success. A 30 to 40 per cent sight improvement, as for instance, reducing shortsightedness from 10 to four dioptres, is also considered a good achievement. The laser beam used in the operations is of the ultraviolet section of the spectrum, with 193 nm wavelength, so that the cornea is cured with no thermal effect. The operation takes 30 to 60 seconds. The checkup costs USD 50, and the operation - USD 500, Gougouchkova said. Professor Keat Williams of Britain, one of the best ophthalmologists who performs such operations and who is considered the creator of the laser operation school in ophthalmology, attended the opening ceremony. Many Bulgarians suffer from eye illnesses; there are about 14,000 blind people in Bulgaria. Bulgarian Telegraph Agency Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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