News from Bulgaria / Mar 5, 96

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

Bulgarian Telegraph Agency Directory

EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA - WASHINGTON D.C.

BTA - BULGARIAN TELEGRAPH AGENCY

5 March, 1996

CONTENTS

[01] IN BULGARIAN ARMY: 1996 PROGRAMME GETS OFF GROUND

The enforcement of the new Defence and Armed Forces Act early this month created all prerequisites for speeding up the reform in the army (which started at the end of 1991 after the collapse of the totalitarian regime in late 1989), senior military officials told reporters. Following the adoption of the concept for reform in the Bulgarian Army, 1,200 million leva were targeted for its implementation this year, given a total of 33,487 million leva in 1996 budget allocations for the Defence Ministry. The reform envisages transition from an organisation based on armies and divisions to a corps-and-brigade type of organisation. Under the 1996 programme, the commands of the separate army services will be reorganised into general headquarters; army commands will be transformed into commands of army corps and part of the mechanized infantry divisions - into mechanized and tank brigades. The reform in the Land Forces and in the Naval Forces will be realized during the first six months of the year.

The Air Forces, particularly the country's air defence, will be restructured in the second half of 1996. The programme envisages the establishment of a tactical aviation corps and of air defence corps. According to General Totomirov, the formation of rapid deployment forces in the structure of the Bulgarian Army is a dire necessity. The establishment of such formations is already under way and they are expected to come into being in 1997.

The Defence and Armed Forces Act is in compliance with the European military legislation; it has been adapted to the Bulgarian conditions and considers the traditions of the Bulgarian military law, Defence Minister Dimiter Pavlov told the news conference. The law lays the foundations of a legal framework for the Armed Forces, the Bulgarian Army included. The draft legislations for alternative national service and for the military police are ready to be coordinated with the interested departments and later discussed at the Council of Ministers and moved to the National Assembly.

The General Staff is now revising 273 documents to bring them in line with the new Defence and Armed Forces Act. By the end of March the Defence Ministry will finalize the regulations for the enlistment of commissioned and non-commissioned officers and will consider decrees for the management of the army housing facilities, the admittance of cadets to the higher military schools etc. According to an opinion poll conducted by the Defence Ministry, 75 per cent of the re-enlistees in the army believe their social problems will be settled if the new legislation is implemented in its original form.

The Defence Ministry will see to the interests of servicemen at the signing of contracts and during the reorganisation in the army, Minister Pavlov said at the news conference. After the draft regulations were discussed recently at the Supreme Council of the General Staff, working teams are now summarizing remarks and are revising the document. On their finalization, the regulations will be discussed at the Supreme Military Council and moved to the Government for approval.

[02] BUSINESS PRESS

"We will proceed to market principles upon the expiry of the Yamburg agreement. Bulgaria will deliver 3,340 million cubic meters of gas a year in exchange for goods and services and part of the payments will be in hard currency, the Bulgargas chief explains. Bulgaria will hardly receive more than 8,000 million cubic meters a year if the wishes of the Russian side regarding the Topenergy Bulgarian-Russian joint venture are not taken into account, he says, citing a statement by Russian Gazprom chief Rem Vyakhirev during his visit here last week. The Russian side insists on the implementation of the clauses of an agreement signed on October 16, 1994 which provides for preferences for the Bulgarian-Russian gas joint venture. This, however, would violate Bulgarian laws according to which only Parliament can grant such preferences under certain conditions. The Government has no such powers, Subev says.

Asked whether there are any other differences with the Russian side, the Bulgargas chief said that the Russian Gazprom wanted Topenergy to be owner of the transit gas pipeline to be built on Bulgarian territory. There were also ambitions for the newly built pipelines by Bulgargas to Greece, Macedonia and Serbia but this is impossible under Bulgarian law. Now the efforts of the Russian side are focused on obtaining a concession, Peter Subev says in his interview.

[03] EIGHT PERCENT DEPRECIATION OF THE LEV SINCE EARLY 1996

In the beginning of 1996 the dollar exchanged for 70.70 leva, which compares with one US dollar for 76.994 leva under the central exchange rate for tomorrow. Throughout the past week the central bank participated actively on the interbank market, preventing the dollar from surging past the psychological barrier of 77 leva. By the week's end, however, the selling price of the dollar reached 77.30 and 77.40 leva. The asking prices are unrealistic; exchange rate of 77 leva- plus for one US dollar, set by the foreign exchange offices, are speculative, Lyubomir Filipov said at a meeting of the BNB Governing Board. The volumes of sold currency are small and therefore are not indicative, financier and former BNB vice governor Emil Hursev said. According to Hursev, BNB prefers to intervene on the market, rather than increasing the base interest rate. Following seven serial reductions of the base interest in 1995, it was raised by eight points on February 5, 1996, touching the 42 percent mark.

With the central bank acting in this way, and given the lack of external financing and the foreign debt service payments, the country's foreign exchange reserves may fall to less than 700 million US dollars, which may trigger uncontrollable inflation, Ivailo Bouyukliev, dealer in Post Bank, said. The BNB Governor said that the central bank spent 64 million US dollars to intervene on the currency market in February, as a result of which the foreign exchange reserves went down to 930 million US dollars. Since the beginning of 1996 Bulgaria has paid 30 million US dollars in the country's foreign debt servicing and it has to pay other 1,000 million US dollars by the year's end. Bulgaria will receive the loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the beginning of the summer at the earliest, according to IMF Mission Leader for Bulgaria Anne McGuirk.

[04] B.S.P. LEADERSHIP DISCUSSES REPORT ON GOVERNMENT'S FIRST YEAR IN OFFICE

According to Borissov, the report is based on assessments made by the respective party commissions. He stated that the commissions were to have several meetings before the end of the week, and that the Executive Bureau would prepare the documents for the enlarged plenary meeting of the BSP Supreme Council and the Demnocratic Left parliamentary group. "I think that there will be a lot of critical remarks at the extended meeting, which I believe is absolutely necessary," Borissov said. "The ways of overcoming the defects in our government will be developed after the plenum," he noted. "No cabinet changes were discussed at today's meeting," Borissov stated and said that in his view, personnel changes would not be considered at the plenum on Sunday either.

[05] MARCH 3rd CELEBRATIONS

This gathering apparently exhausted the "national consensus" during the observances of the national day, "Demokratsiya", the daily of the opposition Union of Democratic Forces, says. The daily writes that neither President Zhelev, nor Prime Minister Videnov attended the festive liturgy, dedicated to the Bulgarian, Russian, Finnish and Romanian soldiers who died in the struggle for Bulgaria's liberation, officiated by Bulgarian Patriarch Maksim at the St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. "The senior politicians avoided the function," reads the caption underneath a picture in "Standart News" of Patriarch Maksim offering the festive liturgy.

"24 Chassa" and "Troud" report on March 3rd observances at Mount Shipka. Hundreds of Bulgarians did not fear the cold snow storm and attended the celebrations, "24 Chassa" says. One hundred and eighteen years after Bulgaria's liberation from the Ottoman rule, they were skinheads who brought and hoisted the one and only Bulgarian flag at Mount Shipka, "Troud" says. "24 Chassa" prints a picture of the skinhead youths laying wreaths. Skinheads desecrated the March 3 celebrations, "Standart News" says.

The Mnogaya Leta [Many Years] hymn was sung twice during the March 3 celebration at the St Kliment Ochridski University of Sofia, "24 Chassa" says. The hymn was sung once to mark Bulgaria's national day, and once more - to mark President Zhelev's 61st birthday, the daily says. Poet and former dissident Radoi Ralin remembered the popular tradition and pulled President Zhelev's ear which is said to bring health, "24 Chassa" says. Press photographers immortalized the moment in pictures, published in "Standart News" and "24 Chassa".

[06] AIDS SCANDAL

Doctors used the AIDS scandal to demand higher wages, the leftist "Zemya" says, prompted by the medics' trade unions demands for Vitkova's resignation. They insisted that the wages of medical personnel with lower qualification be increased. "The medics' federations with the Podkrepa Labour Confederation and the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria probably forgot that less than two months ago they signed an agreement for higher wages of senior medical staff only," "Zemya" says.

[07] DEFENCE INDUSTRY

In an interview with Reserve General Stoyan Andreev, former military adviser to President Zhelyu Zhelev the general Andreev expressed an opinion that one reason for the dire straits of the defence industry now is the disbandment in scientific institutes, design units and the personnel training system. What is left is a group of firms manufacturing special products. The general accuses statesmen of not only closing their eyes to the destructive processes but also of encouraging and sometimes even running these. He sees possibilities for stopping disintegration in the restoration of business and friendly relations with Russia's arms industry which would make it possible to stabilize supply. In addition the respective institutions should help regain old markets and win new ones for Bulgarian special products. This should not violate the restrictions set by world organizations controlling arms markets, General Andreev said. He also pointed to the need to update the legislative basis regulating the arms industry by passing a defence industry law. "Such a law may help prevent further disintegration and defend the interests of producers of special products," General Andreev said.

[08] THIEVES OF RIFLES FROM "ARSENAL" PLANT CAUGHT

[09] ON BULGARIAN LANGUAGE BILL

According to Yuri Borisov MP of the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), the passage of the bill is necessary since there are no constitutional provisions on the implications of the Bulgarian language being the official one in Bulgaria. "It is clear that since it is the official language, its use is obligatory," Borisov says. He believes that the actual reason for the protests of the MRF is the fact that the bill places them under the obligation to use the official language in effecting a certain type of social relations, which they see as an encroachment of the rights of minority groups. Borisov further describes as inadmissible the MRF practice of holding their meetings in Turkish. This MP is sure the bill would not interfere in people's private lives.

[10] MRF DECLARES JIHAD IN KURDJALI

[11] SIMEON II RULES OUT RETURN TO THRONE