News from Bulgaria, 96-10-23

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

EMBASSY OF BULGARIA - WASHINGTON D.C.

BTA - BULGARIAN TELEGRAPH AGENCY

23 October, 1996

The Embassy reminds all Bulgarian citizens that they can exercise in the US their right to vote in the Bulgarian presidential elections, to be held on the 27th of October. For further information contact the Consular service of the Embassy at 202 387 7969.

CONTENTS

[01] LIST OF CANDIDATES AND THEIR ELCTORAL BULLETIN NUMBER

[02] LIST OF US CITIES WHERE ELECTORAL SECTIONS WILL BE SET UP FOR VOTING ON THE 27TH OF OCTOBER 1996

[03] STATEMENT OF COUNCIL OF MINISTERS' PRESS OFFICE

[04] CONSULTATIONS ON DEVELOPMENT OF MILITARY- INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

[05] BULGARIA - CHINA

[06] BULGARIAN FIRMS AT GENOA BUSINESS MEETING

[07] OPPOSITION M.P. ASKS PROSECUTOR GENERAL TO PROBE ABUSES BLAMED ON GOVERNMENT CIRCLES

[08] STUDENTS PROTESTS

[09] BTA AND XINHUA SIGN AGREEMENT IN BEIJING

[01] LIST OF CANDIDATES AND THEIR ELCTORAL BULLETIN NUMBER

Bulletin number 1: - Hristo Dimitrov Boitchev and Ivan Georgiev Koulekov, nominated by Movement for Protecting the Retired, Unemployed and Socially Weak Citizens

Bulletin number 2: - Dimitar Markov Markovski and Dimitrina Nikolova Vuldjeva, nominated by Free Cooperative Party

Bulletin number 3: - Mitko Entchev Dimitrov and Ignat Velkov Ignatov, nominated by Union for Preserving the Assets of Bulgaria

Bulletin number 4: - Ilyan Denev Nikolov and Serguey Nikolov Nemertzov, nominated by Bulgarian National Ecological Party - Veliko Tarnovo

Bulletin number 5: - Ivan Roussev Marazov and Irina Georgieva Bokova, nominated by the coalition Together for Bulgaria

Bulletin number 6: - Vera Dentcheva Ilieva and Iskra Yaneva Atanasova, nominated by Bulgarian Communist Party

Bulletin number 7: - Slavomir Draganov Tzankov and Dobri Yordanov Dobrev, nominated by Union of Democratic Parties and Movements Era 3

Bulletin number 8: - Lubomir Vasilev Stefanov and Parush Yantchev Karaivanov, nominated by Alternative Socialist Union - Independents

Bulletin number 9: - Petar Stefanov Stoyanov and Todor Kolev Kavaldjiev, nominated by the coalition United Democratic forces

Bulletin number 10: - Ivan Metodiev Stoyanov and Roumiana Ivanova Yakimova, nominated by Democratic Party in Bulgaria

Bulletin number 11: - Alexander Trifonov Tomov and Ludmil Asenov Marintchevski, nominated by an Initiative committee

Bulletin number 12: - George Gantchev Gantchev and Arlin Grigorov Antonov, nominated by Bulgarian Business Block

Bulletin number 13: - Mintcho Genov Mintchev and Pentcho Petrov Pentchev, nominated by Fatherland Party of Labour

[02] LIST OF US CITIES WHERE ELECTORAL SECTIONS WILL BE SET UP FOR VOTING ON THE 27TH OF OCTOBER 1996

[03] STATEMENT OF COUNCIL OF MINISTERS' PRESS OFFICE

Mr Gotsev has quoted a personal letter of President of the European Commission Mr Jacques Santer to Prime Minister Zhan Videnov. Such an action is inadmissible and represents an unprecedented violation of moral and decency principles. Mr Gotsev's statements are totally divorced from the truth. In his letter Mr Jacques Santer brings notice about a recent decision of the European Commission to support Bulgaria with ECU 40 million and to work for expansion of cooperation between Bulgaria and the European Union, the statement says.

Mr Gotsev reported about Mr Santer's letter at a UDF news conference today. He appealed to the reporters to request further information on the matter.

[04] CONSULTATIONS ON DEVELOPMENT OF MILITARY- INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

Out of a total of 82 companies, 38 will be privatized, Industry Minister Lyubomir Dachev said in late September, after the three-year moratorium on privatization of the industry ran out on July 23. Many small companies, which already have potential buyers, will go private, according to Mr Dachev. "At this in-depth working meeting the participants discussed a blueprint for Bulgaria's marketing, investment and licensing policy regarding the arms industry until the year 2000," CITUB Vice President Zhelyazko Hristov told reporters after the get- together today. "Today's discussion was held within the context of a comprehensive analysis of the factors of production and finance which determine the state of the arms industry," Dr Hristov also said. "The trade unions believe that the blueprint for MIC rehabilitation, which has been presented to them, is well-intentioned," he added. He specified that the Interdepartmental Council blueprint calls for development of the complex in line with the country's foreign policy. Bulgaria's foreign policy orientation and economic interests are taken into consideration, along with the socio-economic relevance of the problems, he said.

This year the MIC is expected to show a profit of some 450 million US dollars, the "Ikonomicheski Pregled" magazine recently wrote. The pick-up will be somewhat helped by the two International Exhibitions of Defensive Equipment HEMUS, which were held in 1994 and 1996 and at which the Bulgarian MIC showed a number of new products, including some world-class items, Defence Ministry experts say.

[05] BULGARIA - CHINA

The Bulgarian delegation today visited the Emperor's Palace in Beijing and the Thai Military Academy. The schedule of the Bulgarian delegation for tomorrow includes a visit to an air and infantry division near Beijing. Pavlov is expected to be received by senior Chinese officials.

[06] BULGARIAN FIRMS AT GENOA BUSINESS MEETING

More than half of the Bulgarian participants in the business meeting are private companies, according to the Info Centre which collects and processes applications. State-owned companies taking part in the forum include Elektronika of Sofia, the Flavia shoemaker of Plovdiv and Dounarit of the Danubian city of Rousse (a defence company converted to civilian production, which manufactures equipment for the food industry, metal working and medicine, components for cars and agricultural machinery and household appliances). The Bulgarian participants will seek to gain a foothold in Italy and other European markets or reach agreements on joint production. For instance, Flavia exports shoes to Italy, including models made with materials of Italian companies.

The trade fair will bring together some 3,000 companies from 70 countries of Europe, Asia, North and South America. The Bulgarian participants will receive financial assistance under the PHARE programme for the Genoa forum.

Bulgarian companies first took part in a Europartnership meeting in Thessaloniki in 1992. (The first such meeting was held in 1988.) Since then some 800 small and medium-sized Bulgarian businesses have taken part in eight forums. About 10 per cent of the contacts established there led to agreements on joint ventures, consulting services, technical assistance, trade and marketing.

[07] OPPOSITION M.P. ASKS PROSECUTOR GENERAL TO PROBE ABUSES BLAMED ON GOVERNMENT CIRCLES

On 31 typewritten pages, Mr Sougarev focusses on the incorporation of the Bulgarian Agricultural and Industrial Bank which he argues was done in contravention of Bulgarian laws, on a plundering of the state-owned Balkanbank which was recently placed under special supervision as an insolvency risk, on contracts concluded by the Committee of Posts and Telecommunications, the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company and the Bulgarian Sports Totalizator (the lottery) which he says are prejudicial to the State's interests, and on what he describes as "give-away" privatization of the country's second largest oil refinery, Plama of Pleven (North Central Bulgaria).

Speaking at a news conference today, Mr Sougarev siad he has doubts that the October 2 assassination of former prime minister and Socialist MP Andrei Loukanov was motivated by the latter's purposeful gathering of information on "the criminal activities of circles linked with the incumbent Government," as he put it. Many of the cases fingered by Mr Sougarev have already received extensive coverage in the Bulgarian press but, he indicated, the competent institutions have not reacted.

He claims his disclosures involve above all corruption and impairment of state interests in the banking sphere, in the conduct of privatization transactions and in the granting of licences. In his letter, the opposition MP claims these cases involve Government Spokesman Krassimir Raidovski, the President of the Committee of Posts and Telecommunications Lyubomir Kolarov, the President of the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company Mihail Danov, MPs of the ruling Socialist Party and government officials.

"Corruption is already emerging as a key principle of administration and a line of conduct on the part of the incumbents," Mr Sougarev emphasizes, wrapping up his letter to Prosecutor General Tatarchev. He expresses the hope that the cases detailed in the letter and other similar cases will not be ignored and the prosecutor's office will take the necessary investigative and judicial action.

In connection with the information which Edvin Sougarev disclosed to the press today, the Council of Ministers' press office issued a statement which says that Sougarev has made unsubstantiated allegations and spread slander about public servants by which he serves some political and business interests. The Council of Ministers' press office says the concerned persons have asked it, on their behalf, to appeal to Edvin Sougarev that he relinquishes his immunity so that they could proceed with their court suits against him, the statement says.

Later in the day, the Committee of Posts and Telecommunications said in a press release that the Committee's President Lyubomir Kolarov has asked National Assembly Chairman Blagovest Sendov to strip Edvin Sougarev MP of the UDF of his parliamentary immunity so as to sue him for "the lies and slander he is circulating about the BSP, the Government and personally about the President of the Committee." "It is high time to realize that political mud-slinging is not the best way to consolidate statehood, protect national interests and prestige with the foreign firms and companies with which the Committee is doing business," the statement reads.

[08] STUDENTS PROTESTS

This morning students of the "Kliment Ohridski" University of Sofia started collecting signatures for "retaining the level of students grants in real terms, for lower rents and putting an end to the arbitrary actions of the Government." "We do not want to go on effective strike as this may give rise to speculations on the eve of the elections and may be used by those political forces who are interested in postponing the elections," member of the striking committee Vassil Hristov told BTA. He said that at a meeting with Sofia University's rector the students have agreed not to go on effective strikes until the elections.

The students protest mainly aginst high rents and low grants. More specifically they demand that the student grants be increased to 80 per cent of the minimum wage, that security be provided for the region of the dormitories and urgent inspection be made of the companies which run the students dormitories and canteens.

The "Saints Cyril and Methodius" University of Veliko Turnovo (north-central Bulgaria) was occupied by students yesterday for 24 hours, "Demokratsiya" says. 1,000 students and 15 lecturers at the Blagoevgrad University (northwestern Bulgaria) are staging a token strike.

Those who are creating tension pursue political goals, Chief of the Bulgarian Students Union Ivan Modev told "Novinar" today. The organisation will start tomorrow negotiations with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology on lowering the rents in the students dormitories.

According to academician and minister Ilcho Dimitrov the students' protest actions are "a political insinuation which serves certain political interests and comes in conflict with the lawful principle of depoliticization of the higher education". He believes that the arguments should be settled not by ultimatums, strikes and occupations, but rather by a dialogue between students and lecturers, between the academic and state bodies and students' societies."

[09] BTA AND XINHUA SIGN AGREEMENT IN BEIJING

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