News from Bulgaria / 96-06-18

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From: Embassy of Bulgaria <bulgaria@access1.digex.net>

EMBASSY OF BULGARIA - WASHINGTON D.C.

BTA - BULGARIAN TELEGRAPH AGENCY

18 June, 1996

CONTENTS

[01] BALKAN FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING TO BE HELD IN EARLY JULY

[02] PM VIDENOV TO ATTEND EU SUMMIT

[03] SECOND ROUND OF BULGARIA-NATO TALKS

[04] "BULGARIAN CONNECTION WAS C.I.A. FRAME-UP", TURKISH TERRORIST TELLS ABC OF MADRID

[05] PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION VISITS TURKEY

[06] FRANCE ENTERPRISE '96 EXHIBITION OPENS IN BULGARIA

[07] NORTEL PROPOSES TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROJECTS

[08] BUSINESS PRESS

[09] PARLIAMENT, GOVERNMENT AND JUDICIARY TO FORMULATE NATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR CURBING CRIME

[01] BALKAN FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING TO BE HELD IN EARLY JULY

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georgi Pirinski had bilateral meetings with nearly all of his Balkan counterparts during the June 14-15 international conference on Bosnia in Florence. They reportedly confirmed their participation in the early July foreign ministers meeting and July 6-7 seem to be convenient for them all.

A final declaration adopted at the Florence conference expresses a stand on the upcoming Balkan foreign ministers conference in Sofia. In this declaration, the participants in the forum voice a hope that a number of initiatives including the upcoming Sofia meeting of Balkan foreign ministers, will help to promote and improve regional relations, officials of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said today.

Foreign Minister Pirinski was assured by senior officials of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the European Commission that they will send high-ranking representatives to the forthcoming Balkan forum.

This Foreign Ministry Spokesman said Croatia and Slovenia were particularly interested in the forum and they, too, want to send observers to the meeting.

Several months ago Bulgaria proposed to organize and host a conference of the foreign ministers of Southeastern Europe. It was initially scheduled for June 8-9 but was postponed after Turkey and Albania refused to participate, the first because of its obligations as host to the Habitat II UN forum on June 3 through 14, and the second because of its general elections.

[02] PM VIDENOV TO ATTEND EU SUMMIT

[03] SECOND ROUND OF BULGARIA-NATO TALKS

Bulgaria is the first country to start the second round of talks, the Foreign Ministry said in a press release. A discussion was held about the results of the meetings of foreign ministers in Berlin on June 3-4 and of the defence ministers of NATO members and their partners.

Also discussed was the development of goodneighbourly relations and cooperation in Southeastern Europe, democratic control of the armed forces, key points of Bulgaria's National Security Concept and Defence Doctrine, the pace of reform and the modernization of this country's armed forces. Special attention was given to issues relating to the achievement of operative compatibility of the armed forces of Bulgaria and NATO within Partnership for Peace. The next round of talks will be held in Brussels in early September.

[04] "BULGARIAN CONNECTION WAS C.I.A. FRAME-UP", TURKISH TERRORIST TELLS ABC OF MADRID

ABC said that "for the first time in this interview Ali Agca hinted that the much publicized Bulgarian connection had been engineered by the Central Intelligence Agency to accuse the Soviet KGB of masterminding the attempt on the Polish-born Pope's life".

Asked why he had given so many details on the so-called Bulgarian connection in court, why he had identified Antonov, Ayvazov and Vassilev, and how he had come to know so much about them, the Turkish terrorist said: "Let's put this aside... Well, I'll tell you something. ABC has a correspondent in Washington, hasn't it? Let him talk to former C.I.A. director Robert Gates. Mind you, it was the Cold War era. West against East, Americans against the Soviets, communists against anti-communists... The Bulgarian connection was a military act by the West against international communism. It was a just act."

Asked by ABC whether he meant that was a false lead intended to put the blame for the attempted assassination on the KGB, Agca answered: "I haven't said anything. Talk to the C.I.A. if you want to learn some things."

[05] PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION VISITS TURKEY

The visit takes place at the invitation of Turkish Grand National Assembly Speaker Mustafa Kalemli. Apart from him, the Bulgarian parliamentarians are scheduled to meet Chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee in the Turkish Parliament Sedat Alooglu and representatives of the Bulgaria-Turkey Friendship Group. Sendov said that the Turkish side is yet to confirm the meetings with President Suleyman Demirel and Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay.

In Istanbul, the delegation will visit the Bulgarian exarchate, the Saint Sofia Church and other historical monuments. Sendov said that the Bulgarian-Turkish talks will address the problems of the Bulgarian real estate property in Istanbul.

[06] FRANCE ENTERPRISE '96 EXHIBITION OPENS IN BULGARIA

The exhibition is staged with the participation of 30 Bulgarian- French joint ventures and representations of French enterprises in this country operating in food processing, the automobile industry, cosmetics, engineering, advertisement, electronics, electrical engineering, informatics, information and bank services and tourism.

"France has shown its desire for active participation in Bulgaria's economic life, what we expect is that the Bulgarian side provides opportunities for the promotion of trade and economic contacts," Mr Tremeau said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development Roumen Gechev who also attended the opening gave assurances that the Bulgarian Government had already been implementing a programme for the attraction of foreign investment. "The fact that in the first quarter of 1996 foreign investment went up two-fold compared with the like period of 1995 proves that the programme is operating efficiently," Mr Gechev said.

Mr Gechev said that the agreement on the building up of a stock exchange in Bulgaria signed with France during the annual meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (held in mid- April 1996) was an important prerequisite for the advancement of Bulgarian-French contacts. The French Government floated FFr 2.5 million for the project gratuitously. The signing of financial arrangements with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and the acceleration of cash and mass privatization will have a positive effect on the attraction of French and other foreign investments to Bulgaria.

[07] NORTEL PROPOSES TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROJECTS

Nortel is one of the four companies which are building the Western ring of the DON project due to be completed in 1997. Kolarov and Holland discussed the possibilities for further co-operation in the development of the Bulgarian telecommunications, the Posts and Telecommunications Committee's press office said.

In his capacity as a representative of a subsidiary of the Bell- Canada company, Holland expressed the concern's interest to invest, through concessions, in the Bulgarian telecommunications industry.

[08] BUSINESS PRESS

The collection of Value Added Tax will be computerized as of July, "24 Chassa" writes quoting Deputy Finance Minister Bisser Slavkov. The automated system is financed under the PHARE program. The software allowing the checking of invoices and tax returns is being installed at present. A central system for data about collected taxes, excise and other duties will be set into operation by December 31, 1996. At least two years are needed to build up the local networks and connect them to the central one, Slavkov states.

"Pari" writes that employees of the General Administration of the Construction Corps (GACC) build a moll in the centre of Tel Aviv. The building has 42 storeys and should be completed in 14 months. The Bulgarian constructors use German materials and equipment. After the project is fulfilled GACC will apply to execute the finishing works. Under a contract Bulgarian constructors will build a palace of justice at the Israeli city of Beersheba.

[09] PARLIAMENT, GOVERNMENT AND JUDICIARY TO FORMULATE NATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR CURBING CRIME

The national programme will contain social measures as well as controls to curb specific offences. Under the agreement, the programme will be approved by the Government and the Supreme Judicial Council and will then be adopted by Parliament. The three powers will analyse crime and the factors leading to it, will make projections about crime rates and will evaluate the system for fighting crime.

The document states that the economic and social ruin and the spiritual crisis have led to a grave and complicated crime situation. Crime rates have soared in the last few years, besides crime is internationalized.

"Such an agreement on curbing crime is signed for the first time in Parliament, and it is supported by all the parliamentary groups," National Assembly Chairman Blagovest Sendov said after the signing ceremony. He expressed his satisfaction with having been receiving mandate by all the parliamentary groups to sign the agreement.

"The Government is obliged to do everything through its bodies and implement the will of the people and crack on crime more efficiently," Prime Minister Zhan Videnov said. In his view, all the three powers should come together to make the actions for combating crime efficient.

"This is a new approach, a new step in fighting crime," Justice Minister and Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council Mladen Chervenyakov said. "We can control crime efficiently only by concerted efforts," he added. The programme is expected to become operative this autumn.

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