Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA), 97-01-23

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

EMBASSY OF BULGARIA - WASHINGTON D.C.

BTA - BULGARIAN TELEGRAPH AGENCY

23 January, 1997

CONTENTS

[01] NEW BULGARIAN PRESIDENT TAKES OFFICE

[02] PRESIDENT STOYANOV STARTS POLITICAL CONSULTATIONS

[03] BULGARIAN-DUTCH CONSULTATIONS

[04] MEMORANDUM BETWEEN BULGARIA, UNIDO

[05] BULGARIA-AUSTRIA INVESTMENT PROTECTION ACCORD

[06] RESPONSES TO BSP'S APOLOGY

[07] JANUARY 1997: RISING PRICES, FALLING INCOMES

[08] PARLIAMENT AMENDS HEALTH LAW

[09] SOFIA CITY PROSECUTOR ON JANUARY 10-11 CLASHES

[10] SAFETY OF N-PLANT

[11] A DELAY IN THE INTRODUCTION OF A CURRENCY BOARD WILL INCREASE TENSION

[12] POLITICAL PRESSURE ON BULGARIAN TV

[13] ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTS CONTINUE

[14] MORE TRADE UNION PROTESTS SUPPORT OPPOSITION

[01] NEW BULGARIAN PRESIDENT TAKES OFFICE

Attending the ceremony were National Assembly Chairman Sendov, the Prime Minister and ministers of the outgoing Socialist government, MPs of all parliament forces, high brass, diplomats based in Sofia and clergy.

Dr. Zhelev and the incoming President and Vice President were congratulated by the official guests. Stoyanov shook hands with the parliament leaders, the outgoing government ministers and was introduced to the attending top military. Dr. Zhelev, Stoyanov, Kavaldjiev and their wives received flowers. Several thousand of Bulgarians came to hail their new President, chanting "UDF!", "Victory!" and "Elections!".

The ceremony continued in front of the Monument to the Unknown Soldier where a huge multitude of people gathered along with the officials. The national flag was raised to the national anthem and gun salutes. President Stoyanov again saluted the representative military units and paid floral tribute to the Monument.

Metropolitan Pimen, head of the dissenter synod, held a prayer service and water-blessing ceremony. The multitude joined the prayers.

Peter Stoyanov swore publicly in the Bible and pledged to serve the nation and God. Attending this part of the ceremony were Socialist party leader Georgi Purvanov and Patriarch Maksim, the official head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

People were waving the national flag and the blue flags of the opposition Union of Democratic Forces. They followed the new President to the president's office applauding and chanting "Bravo!", "Success!" and "Congratulations!". Groups of people booed the attending MPs of the Left and outgoing government. Others shouted calls for unity in the name of the nation. There were no accidents. Bells chimed in the St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral and other churches in Sofia.

Bishop Nestor of the Troyan Monastery in Central Bulgaria held a service to mark the event. He prayed for a successful term of the new Head of State, said the local BTA correspondent.

[02] PRESIDENT STOYANOV STARTS POLITICAL CONSULTATIONS

After a sitting of the political council of the United Democratic Forces (UtdDF) that coordinated the views of its members - the Union of Democratic Forces, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms and the Popular Union - on Wednesday, leader Ivan Kostov said the stance with which the UtdDF will come out before the President rules out a second Socialist government. "Accepting a second Socialist government means accepting that the Socialist party has not failed, that we are giving them more time, and it means a national disaster," said Kostov.

In a declaration circulated on Wednesday independent MPs called upon the Socialist-led Left coalition to renouce a second government- formation mandate. They believe a second government appointed by the Socialists jeopardizes civic peace. Declarations with identical demands were issued Wednesday by the Green Party and the Constitutional Forum civil movement. Tese two political parties do not have Mps. in Parliament.

As a symbol of the unity of the nation, President Stoyanov should observe the Constitution and ask the Socialist party to form a second government, read declarations by Socialists of the Central Bulgarian towns of Kalofer, Sopot and Gorni Domlyan quoted by local BTA correspondent. These demands were backed by Socialists in Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, the Triaditsa borough in Sofia and the Union of Communist Victims of Oppressions. Local Socialist activists insist that the Socialist party and its coalition partners use their mandate and form a new broad-based government, Vassil Kalinov of the Socialist party top leadership said on Tuesday summing up regional sittings of local Socialist party members and adherents.

At a news conference on Wednesday the spokesman of the parliamentary Bulgarian Business Bloc (BBB) Hristo Ivanov said the Socialist Party and the UDF threaten the public peace with their refusal to negotiate on the appointment of a task-force government. BBB leader George Ganchev said BBB is ready to participate in a broad coalition government with a fixed mandate that will have the support of all parliamentary forces. Ganchev will start a shuttle to seek the support of the Great Powers for Bulgaria's efforts to get out of the crisis. Ganchev told a BTA reporter he will have meetings in Austria, Russia, Turkey, Britain, Canada and the United States.

[03] BULGARIAN-DUTCH CONSULTATIONS

[04] MEMORANDUM BETWEEN BULGARIA, UNIDO

Under the memorandum, the sides will promote cooperation in industry, including the organization of forums, seminars, expert meetings, training programmes, the exchange of industrial and technological information, consultancy and expert assistance, supply of equipment and the implementation of industrial projects by UNIDO, financed by the United Nations Development Programme and other sources. Cooperation between Bulgaria and UNIDO will seek to ease Bulgaria's transition to a market economy and above all radical reforms in industry seeking to make it a stable sector of the economy.

[05] BULGARIA-AUSTRIA INVESTMENT PROTECTION ACCORD

This is an agreement of historic importance for the development of bilateral ties, Ambassador Kristen said after the document was signed. He believes its positive effect will be felt even before the ratification by the two countries' Parliaments. The agreement applies to all investment projects launched after January 1, 1995.

Austria has to day launched a total of 203 investment projects in Bulgaria worth 482 million Austrian shilling (about 42 million US dollars), said Ambassador Kristen. The figure does not include the turnover of 324 small and mediumsized Austrian companies operating on the Bulgarian market. Bulgarian investment in Austria includes 70 projects worth over 500 million Austrian shilling (about 50 million US dollars), according to the Ambassador. Austria is Bulgaria's seventh major investor and fifth among the countries in which Bulgaria invests.

Austria is one of Bulgaria's traditional trade partners. Machines and spare parts, products of the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, electrical appliances, vehicles and pedigree cattle form the bulk of Austrian exports to Bulgaria. Bulgarian exports to Austria are dominated by ready-made clothes, machines and engines, agricultural products, honey, ferrous metals and chemicals. The two countries have joint ventures mainly in electronics and construction, the cement industry and mining.

[06] RESPONSES TO BSP'S APOLOGY

"I apologize to all Bulgarian citizens whose hopes in the government of the Democratic Left were dashed," Purvanov said. "We tried to implement an ambitious programme. However, not everything we have done should and can be negated because some of the measures were applied for the first time," Purvanov said. "But obviously our government cannot be assessed in positive terms. And yet I am surprised that we are hindered from carrying out the intended changes," the BSP leader said.

In its January 22 issue the same paper published reactions by different parliamentary forces. "Purvanov's apology is a step in the right direction but I don't think his is a deep regret. If Purvanov was really sincere, he and his party fellows would not insist to form a new cabinet," Ivan Kostov, leader of the Union of Democratic Forces, said.

Anastasia Moser, Co-Chairperson of the Popular Union thinks the apology is much belated, perfunctory and partial. In her view, this is not an apology for all the damages the Communists inflicted on the Bulgarian people and for the economic collapse; Purvanov's is an apology for what happened in the last two years only.

Ahmed Dogan, leader of the ethnic Turks' Movement for Rights and Freedoms, also expressed the view that the apology came too late. "To show they are sincere, the Socialists should give up their mandate to form a cabinet," he pointed out.

George Ganchev, leader of the Bulgarian Business Bloc, thinks that Georgi Purvanov is more sensitive than a lot of his colleagues and his apology is a praiseworthy act. "Few people at his age could swallow the bitter feelings and apologize," Ganchev said.

[07] JANUARY 1997: RISING PRICES, FALLING INCOMES

Economic experts say the inflationary spiral is pushed up by the speculative strengthening of the dollar against the lev. This fact is put down to a widespread tendency among Bulgarians to buy dollars which are considered the only safe investment.

[08] PARLIAMENT AMENDS HEALTH LAW

[09] SOFIA CITY PROSECUTOR ON JANUARY 10-11 CLASHES

[10] SAFETY OF N-PLANT

"Criticism from the West has always existed and will exist. Nuclear power is an element determining the independence of a country," Nikolov also said in a statement for the national media Wednesday. "Some western institutions should justify what they did a year ago when they forced us groundlessly to shut down Unit One. However, we will not give in, and will defend with documents what we are doing to modernize Unit One and the remaining three 440-megawatt units," Nikolov said.

"The anonymous French and German experts, who said on Jan. 21 1997 in Paris that the reactor of Unit One will be able to operate safely for no longer than two years, expressed a private opinion, which has nothing to do with the official findings of the final report," the National Electric Company (NEC) press office said Wednesday. Those opinions of unnamed experts were quoted by the Russian ITAR-TASS news agency on January 22.

Unit One of the plant was brought on stream at 5:45 a.m. on January 20, the NEC said Tuesday. NEC said that the "results of the reactor casing metal tests show that it is in good condition, which allows safe operation of the reactor and its restart. On the basis of calculations by the chief designer Gidropres of Moscow, experts assume that even if treated very conservatively, the results of this analysis show the reactor can be safely operated until the end of its 26- th fuel cycle. At present the reactor of Unit One has been refuelled for its 19th cycle," the press release also says. This information was based on the findings in the final reports on the results of the testing of the metal of the Unit One reactor casing, presented by contractor Siemens of Germany with subcontractors the Kurchatov Institute of Moscow and the institutes of metal science and of nuclear energy with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the NEC also said.

The 440-megawatt Unit One, put into operation in 1974, stirred a controversy in 1995. In September of that year the ambassadors of the G-7 countries called for a delay of its restart and a safety test for which samples were to be taken from the metal casing. In spite of this, Unit One was restarted on October 1, 1995 after an eight-month overhaul. In late November, following a seminar on nuclear engineering, it was decided to take samples after the end of the winter. On recommendation by the International Atomic Energy Agency, samples were taken after the end of the fuel cycle on May 17. The process of sample-taking, done by Westinghouse, and analysis by Siemens took eight months.

[11] A DELAY IN THE INTRODUCTION OF A CURRENCY BOARD WILL INCREASE TENSION

Bulgaria does not fully meet the conditions for introducing a currency board, said Prof. Alexander Dimitrov, Director of the Economic Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The situation is further aggravated by the political crisis in the wake of water, bread, banking and financial crises, Prof. Dimitrov also said. That is why the board should be introduced in such a way so as to minimise its negative consequences and reduce the social price.

Elections should be held not before June and not later than the end of the year when the legislative basis for introducing a currency board will be ready, economists advise. Until then there should be a working National Assembly and a strong cabinet to adopt the necessary legislation. The holding of immediate elections would delay the introduction of a currency board and provoke a further escalation of social tension.

Experts of the Economic Institute project a 70% inflation and a 3 to 4% drop in the GDP this year. January inflation will be 40-50% and will remain high in the next two months, Prof. Dimitrov believes. Aggregate December 1996-December 1996 inflation was 307%, Prof. Dimitrov recalled. The present state of the Bulgarian economy proves the total failure of the monetary policy and monetary instruments, Prof. Dimitrov believes.

[12] POLITICAL PRESSURE ON BULGARIAN TV

The national TV and radio have come under fire from the opposition and other sides for failing to provide complete and objective coverage of the protests against the ruling Socialist party and particularly those of the night on January 10 when protesters clashed with police in front of the Parliament building. Trade union activists working at the television threatened with a strike but in the meantime negotiations started with the TV management.

Tokadjiev said it is the right time to take action and make the television independent, both politically and economically. An agreement to that effect was reached during the negotiations between the management and the trade unions. It also emerged that the Finance Ministry will provide financing for the payment of the January wages. However, financial shortages will prevent the national TV from paying taxes due to the Committee of Posts and Telecommunications.

[13] ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTS CONTINUE

For a 16th day in a row, sympathizers of the United Democratic Forces, trade union members and college students rallied in front of the Alexander Nevski cathedral after a march in Sofia streets. "The counter-rallies the BSP is planning are a dangerous game with fire- they are like giving matches to a small child," UDF leader Ivan Kostov told a rally Wednesday in Plovdiv (sout-central Bulgaria). "The BSPís problem is not us, the parliamentary opposition, it is the opposition in the streets, the people who want elections now," Kostov also said. He reiterated the UtdDF firm position in for immediate elections, which he sees as the only constitutional guarantee that the BSP will not deceive the people.

Before joining the rally in Sofia, students from universities and high schools marched with banners "Academics Want Elections Now", etc. The group was joined by drama students dressed in black and carrying a coffin with the BSP's symbolic body. A symbolic funeral of the party took place in front of the former mausoleum of communist leader Georgi Dimitrov.

There will be no postponement of mid-year exams and of the entrance exams in the summer, said Sofia University Rector Ivan Lalov on Wednesday. The protest actions of the students and the suspension of lectures does not affect extramural students and final exams.

A national session of BSP regional leaders and MPs was held on Wednesday in Sofia. The participants declared themselves in favour of the Socialists' using their mandate for forming a second cabinet to work in defence of national interests and establishing control over the socioeconomic situation in this country. The BSP top leadership authorized the local party structures to decide whether to hold mass initiatives in support of the decisions of the session or not, depending on the concrete situation. The participants in the session proposed that the top leadership of the BSP discuss readiness for staging nationwide initiatives in support of constitutional order and the forming of a new left cabinet. The session observed that at this stage the outgoing cabinet is not strong enough to solve the problems facing this country. The participants in the forum insisted that the cabinet does everything possible to consolidate the financial system and civil peace.

[14] MORE TRADE UNION PROTESTS SUPPORT OPPOSITION

On January 13, 1997, Podkrepa, the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB), the Promyana (Change) Association for National Trade Union and Citizens' Actions and the UtDF set up a centre to coordinate the national protests and prepare a national political strike.

BTA local correspondents kept on reporting Wednesday about various forms of strike actions in the country's enterprises. "The seven- day strike warning in compliance with the Settlement of Collective Industrial Disputes Act expired in some of the plants yesterday," CITUB Vice President Ivan Neikov told a news conference Wednesday. Sign-ins have been launched in these enterprizes on the staging of indefinite strikes, Neikov added. CITUB added to its demands the drafting of an anti-crisis program which should provide people's living during the winter. Almost all protesting local trade union structures raise purely industrial demands. Trade unions from enterpizes in metallurgy, machine-building, mining, medicine, transport, ship-building and chemistry took part in various forms of protests last week. 320,000 people have taken part in the protests so far, Promyana said Tuesday.

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