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Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA), 97-03-13Bulgarian Telegraph Agency Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Embassy of Bulgaria <bulgaria@access1.digex.net>EMBASSY OF BULGARIA - WASHINGTON D.C.BTA - BULGARIAN TELEGRAPH AGENCY13 March, 1997CONTENTS
[01] IMF HOPES WANTS TO REACH AGREEMENT WITH BULGARIASofia, March 12 (BTA) - Bulgaria and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) share basically the same views of what is required for Bulgaria today but there are still some differences, Michael Deppler, Director of IMF European I Department, told journalists Wednesday after meeting Bulgarian President Peter Stoyanov. He also said he is encouraged by the possibility for reaching an agreement with Bulgaria soon. Attending the talks was also IMF Mission Leader for Bulgaria Anne McGuirk who has been here for a third week now. Deppler arrived here on Tuesday afternoon for the final stage of negotiations for preparation of a new Bulgaria-IMF agreement. "I told the President that the Fund was very anxious to come to an agreement with Bulgaria. We feel very strongly that Bulgaria needs to take a decisive step toward reform and toward stabilization," said this IMF official. The IMF needs to be assured of the actions of the new administration after the elections, said also Deppler.General elections in Bulgaria are due on April 19. The Fund is interested in the longterm future of Bulgaria. It wants Bulgaria to join Poland and the other countries of Central and Eastern Europe and register growth within the next five years, said also Michael Deppler. He stressed this requires a commitment to policies which will be sustained for a number of years. "I need to be convinced of a widespread agreement on the policies that are being adopted and this will be what we will be trying to achieve over the next days," said he. He will meet leaders of the political forces in Bulgaria to see whether Bulgaria accepts the principle recommendations of the Fund and the basic aspects of the programme. Michael Deppler would not comment on the differences between the Bulgarian side and the IMF on points of the programme and said some things need further talks to be specified. Later on Wednesday Michael Deppler and Anne McGuirk met Bulgarian Prime Minister Sofiyanski. I believe the negotiations with the IMF have reached a very advanced stage and hope they will end before the beginning of next week. There are some problems that has yet to be solved before we say for sure that Bulgaria will sign an agreement with the IMF and that a currency board will be introduced, Sofiyanski said after the meeting. He said the government and the IMF have already agreed on the structural reform, the framework of the 1997 budget and the principles of the currency board to be introduced in Bulgaria. There are though certain differences on stabilization of the banking sector. "We want to see Bulgaria introduce the currency board with a stable banking sector," he stressed adding, "I think we will sign the agreement but it has to be a clear and feasible agreement - this is what matters for the success of the currency board mechanism." The Prime Minister also said Bulgaria needs stable guarantees that it will receive adequate financing for the reforms that will be made. Deppler too voiced hope that the negotiations between Bulgaria and the Fund will end by Friday. "I think Bulgaria is in a good place to make a fast break from its past," said he. It is Michael Deppler's second visit to Bulgaria. He first came to this country last November and brought the proposal for introducing a currency board to achieve macroeconomic stabilization. [02] COMMISSIONER VAN DEN BROEK ARRIVES MONDAYSofia, March 12 (BTA) - External Relations Commissioner Hans van den Broek will pay a visit to Bulgaria on March 17 and 18, 1997, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Vlaikov told a news conference Wednesday. Van den Broek will confer with President Stoyanov, Prime Minister Sofiyanski and Foreign Minister Stalev. He will have a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry Bozhkov, Finance Minister Gavriiski and Minister of Trade and Foreign Economic Cooperation Bobeva. The European Commissioner will read a lecture on the European Union support for reforms in Bulgaria at the St Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia on March 18.Bulgaria attaches great importance to the Commissioner's visit at the moment because it is a clear sign of the EU support for the activation of reforms in Bulgaria, Vlaikov said. During the visit the Bulgarian side will acquaint van den Broek and the EU respectively with the most topical aspects of the Bulgarian reform. Bulgaria expects to be familiarized with the opinion of the EU and its support plants, the Foreign Ministry Spokesman said. The consideration of applications filed by the EU associated countries for full membership is another topic the Bulgarian authorities will discuss with the European Commissioner. [03] GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER KINKEL TO VISIT SOFIASofia, March 12 (BTA) - Germany's Federal Vice Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Klaus Kinkel will visit Sofia on March 27, Bulgarian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Radko Vlaikov told reporters Wednesday. He did not elaborate on the forthcoming visit. "Bulgaria's current development prompts Germany's particular concern with Bulgarian problems and its commitment to efforts towards Bulgaria's return to the group of countries with successful transition," Mr Kinkel said in late February, addressing the Bundestag.[04] GRAIN PROBLEM MAY BE SOLVEDSofia, March 12 (BTA) - The first 820 tonnes of Polish grain, arranged by President Peter Stoyanov during his visit to Poland late last month, arrived at the Sofia Mills. These and the expected 31,240 tonnes of Australian wheat would suffice to meet flour requirements in Sofia and Sofia Region until the next harvest, said Hristo Nikolov, Executive Director of Sofia Mills. Three more shipments of grain are expected to arrive Thursday. The first shipment of Australian wheat expected at the Sofia Mills, has already arrived at Port Bourgas and will be transported by rail to Sofia. The grain was shipped under a deal for some 140,000 tonnes of wheat to meet this country's requirements. The remaining amount is expected in early April.Three hundred and ninety of the expected 500 tonnes of wheat in humanitarian aid from Switzerland are already at Port Lom on the Danube. The wheat will be distributed by the Foreign Aid Agency. An additional 112 tonnes are expected to arrive by the end of the week. This wheat will be mixed with Bulgarian in order to reduce bread prices, said Nedelcho Nedelchev, manager of the mills in Lom. [05] EX-CABINET'S REPLACEMENTS OF MANAGERSSofia, March 12 (BTA) - Three hundred and one managers of state- owned commercial partnerships in the sphere of industry (about 20 per cent) were dismissed in the period between February 1995 and February 1997. The orders for the dismissals were signed by former industry ministers of Videnov's cabinet - Kliment Vouchev and his successor, Lyubomir Dachev, the Industry Ministry press office said Wednesday. The new leadership of this ministry found out that most of the replacements were made in partnerships enjoying a relatively stable financial and economic condition and having considerable importance for Bulgaria's economy. Most of the replacements were initiated by regional governors, mayors and local structures of the Bulgarian Socialist Party. Many were ungrounded and were probably made under pressure, reads the press release.[06] RED CROSS RECEIVES DONATIONSSofia, March 12 (BTA) - The German Embassy in Bulgaria provided foods for a specialized centre in Sofia, where 200 needy people will receive lunch and sandwiches, the Bulgarian Red Cross (BRC) said. The centre has been organized by the BRC and the Association of Bulgarian Women. The German Red Cross of the Federal State of Baden- Wuertenberg has raised 10,000 Deutschemark for the purchase of food for the public care homes in the Sofia area. Other funds will be available for maintenance of soup kitchens in the nearby towns of Samokov, Kostenets and Botevgrad. Responding to an appeal of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, relief supplies are arriving for vulnerable groups in Bulgaria. Also from the German Red Cross, the BRC will receive humanitarian aid worth 300,000 Deutschemarks, and the Danish Red Cross will send 11,000 food parcels. The BRC has received a donation from Medabyk Ltd.: 2,900 packs of Milupa baby mixes and 100 packs of Aptamil baby adapted milk will be distributed among Red Cross chapters, hospitals and children's homes in several towns. The Swiss Red Cross has sent the BRC humanitarian aid valued at nearly 10,000 US dollars. The clothing, footwear, mattresses, bedding, computers, teaching aids and toys will be distributed among the care homes in the Vratsa area (Northwestern Bulgaria). With the assistance of the Bulgarian Embassy in Rome, Mrs Maria KisselovaRomerso will provide medicines worth nearly 6,000 US dollars.[07] ASSISTANCE FOR BULGARIAN SPORTSofia, March 12 (BTA) - The International Olympic Committee extended 25,000 US dollars under its Olympic Solidarity program to the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC). The assistance will be remitted in several tranches and is designed to help Bulgarian athletes prepare for the Winter Olympic Games due in Nagano in 1998, BOC said Wednesday. At a meeting held Wednesday BOC set up an Olympic Games Commission, headed by BOC President Ivan Slavkov.[08] RECRUITS DOWN BY A THIRDSofia, March 12 (BTA) - The number of pre-conscripts born between 1977 and 1982 has dropped by 35 per cent, Lt. Gen. Zaharin Iliev, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, said on Tuesday. He spoke about reform in the army before reserve officers in Sofia, "Troud" and "Standart News" report on Wednesday. The number of illiterate recruits is rising, Gen. Iliev said. Pre-conscripts who have not finished elementary school are up by some 10 per cent. The largest draft in recent years, men born in 1976, was reported in 1996. Falling birth rates have halved the number of pre-conscripts to be drafted into the army in the year 2002. The annual intake now is about 40, 000. This autumn the army and the navy will start enlisting professionals on three-year initial contracts. Cadremen now account for over 70 per cent of air force and navy personnel. The largest number of conscripts are in the ground forces. Volunteers will be enlisted experimentally in the tank and missile forces.[09] CONSORTIUM TO TAKE OVER BOROVETS RESORT MANAGEMENTBorovets, March 12 (BTA) - A consortium will be set up shortly to handle and manage the mountain resort of Borovets, Roumen Draganov, Chairman of the Committee of Tourism, told a news conference Wednesday. Draganov was in Borovets, situates about 60 km away from Sofia, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Bulgaria's oldest mountain resort. Today it can provide accommodation for 10,000 people at its hotels, rest homes, holiday villages and private villas surrounded by old pine trees. The consortium will tackle all problems of the resort, from public utilities and infrastructure to parks and environment protection. Its establishment will make it possible to raise additional funds for the maintenance of the infrastructure. The purpose is to make Borovets an even more attractive place for winter and summer holidays as well as a centre of cultural and informative tourism, Draganov said.There are a lot of cultural monuments at Borovets which will be of great interest for foreign and Bulgarian visitors but they are not made use of for the purposes of tourism at the moment. It is planned to restore the two royal palaces, Tsarska Bistritsa and Sitnyakovo, and the summer villa called Sarugyol which, built about 100 years ago by King Ferdinand, laid the foundations of the resort of Chamkoria (the name was derived from the Turkish word for pine tree). The residents of Samokov, situated at the foot of Mount Rila at 10 km from Borovets, were the first to discover its clear air with the fresh smell of pine trees and its wholesome climate. At the end of last century the mayor of Samokov built there a small wooden cottage for his wife who suffered from tuberculosis. When she regained her health, physicians from Sofia decided to use the place for a resort and a first small hotel was built in 1896. The building of royal residences in different parts of Bulgaria began with the ascension of Ferdinand. A keen hunter, Ferdinand was charmed by Chamkoria and had two palaces and a villa built for him there. Courtiers and wealthy people from all parts of the country began to build summer houses in Chamkoria. In the 1930s there were about 160 rich men's villas there. After 1944, the communist government nationalized all estates in Chamkoria, later handing them over for management to trade unions, artists' unions and the Security Service. The property was returned to its owners with the adoption of the Act Restoring Ownership in Nationalized Immovable Property in 1992. However, the royal palaces are still managed by various institutions and not used for what they were built for. Draganov believes that they should be fully restored and furnished with the old valuable pieces of furniture, Ferdinand's collection of hunting trophies, pictures and so on. The mosque, the church and the arts and crafts bazaar in the town of Samokov are also of great interest. Rural tourism and hikes in the mountain are nice options for visitors too. King Ferdinand and his son King Boris III, former communist leader Zhivkov, Socialist ex-prime minister Loukanov and Bulgaria's best skier Popangelov take the greatest credit for building and preservation of the Borovets Resort, the Committee of Tourism Chairman said. [10] ETHNOGRAPHIC CENTRES ATTRACT TOURISTS EVEN IN WINTERSofia, March 12 (Andrei Sharkov of BTA) - Etura, a heritage park southeast of Gabrovo (Central Bulgaria) has attracted nearly 10 million visitors in its 32-year history, says Director Karamfila Groudova. The park contains some fine examples of Gabrovo architecture and life-style of the 18th-19th centuries. The main street is lined with two-storey houses with shop-fronts where visitors can see various handicrafts practised the way there were two centuries ago. Craftsmen help visitors make their own earthenware pots on a potter's wheel or weave their own braids. Folk festivals are held in Etura. The Bozhentsi architectural reserve is 8 km north-east of Gabrovo, a typical mountain village preserved in a time capsule for 600 years. Cutlery, pottery and chandlery are some of the crafts displayed there. Cozy small restaurants and pretty houses are its main drawing cards. Agoushevi Konatsi in the Rhodope Mountains, an ethnographic complex in Southern Bulgaria, illustrates the life of a well-to- do family in the 19th century. Crafts Alley, situated in a park in Aitos not far from the Black Sea city of Bourgas, attracts visitors with its wood-and- stone shops amid stunning scenery. There is a similar alley in the Albena resort to the north. Traditional crafts are also practised in Oreshak (Central Bulgaria), Arbanasi (near Veliko Turnovo, in the northeast) and Samokov (near Sofia), to mention only a few places where visitors can buy souvenirs. Dolmens, shrines, burial mounds and necropolises from Thracian and Roman times are some of the traces left by numerous civilizations in the Balkan peninsula. The Strandja National Park in the south-east, a place with a unique climate and nature, has seven reserves and 12 protected areas with rare plants and animals. There is the village of Brushlyan, an architectural reserve, and the village of Bulgari where nestinari dance on fire on May 21, SS Constantine and Helen's Day.[11] WRITER GEORGI DANAILOV AWARDED IN ROUSSEAU COMPETITIONSofia, March 12 (BTA) - An essay by Bulgarian writer Georgi Danailov won second prize at this year's Rousseau Competition, the Agence France-Presse reported from Paris. The jury did not award a first prize because it would not "assume the responsibility to select anybody as equal to Rousseau." The third, fourth and fifth prizes went to a Spaniard, a Frenchman and a Romanian lady, respectively. The laureates have been invited to Paris on Thursday by the National Book Centre to collect their prizes. The entrants in the Rousseau Competition, which started in 1993, are asked to submit a written answer to the question "Has the rehabilitation of sciences and arts helped ennoble morals?" This question, asked in 1750, was answered in a brilliant essay by famous French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Entries for this year's competition were submitted by 576 aspirants from 30 Council of Europe member countries.[12] FRANCOPHONY DAYS IN SOFIASofia, March 12 (BTA) - Francophony Days will be held in Sofia between March 17 and 22 on the occasion of the International Day of Francophony March 20, Deputy Foreign Minister Konstantin Glavanakov told a news conference Wednesday. A Francophone Heritage exhibition, a film panorama, a Frenchlanguage competition on "What do you know about Francophony" and a concert of classical French music will be held during the days. The Medici Prices of the Institut Francais will be presented on March 21. Bulgaria joined the Francophone Community as a full member in 1993, Deputy Minister Glavanakov recalled. The French Charge d'Affaires in Sofia Jean-Francois Parot, who attended the news conference together with representatives of the embassies of five Francophone countries, noted that the planet's Frenchspeaking population approximates 200 million. "What matters most about Francophony is that it seeks to foster solidarity among peoples and preservation of their cultural diversity," Mr Parot said.[13] COMPOSER ARNAOUDOV ON CD IN THE STATESSofia, March 12 (BTA) - California's Concord Records has released its latest CD The Empire of Light, featuring piano compositions by young Bulgarian composer Georgi Arnaoudov. This is his debut in the U.S. Producer Heiner Stadler is known for his Bach integral. The title piece was inspired by Belgian surrealist Rene Magritte. Arnaoudov graduated from Sofia Conservatoire in 1985. His works so far include a symphony, a concerto for orchestra, a concerto for piano and chamber orchestra, and three string quartets. In 1984 his choral composition Come and See after Pablo Neruda's poems won the Grand Prix of the Organization of European Radio Stations, a prize of the Musical Youth international organization and the Golden Harp award of the 15th international youth contest in Belgrade. Five years later the young composer won first prize at the Carl Maria von Weber modern music competition in Dresden where he received great critical acclaim.Bulgarian Telegraph Agency Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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