Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA), 97-03-07

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

EMBASSY OF BULGARIA - WASHINGTON D.C.

BTA - BULGARIAN TELEGRAPH AGENCY

7 March, 1997

CONTENTS

[01] BULGARIA INTRODUCES VISA FREE REGIME FOR EU NATIONALS

[02] BULGARIA CLOSES DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS

[03] CONSULTATIONS ON ACCESSION TO NATO

[04] PM BRIEFS POLITICAL FORCES ON IMF TALKS

[05] MEASURES TO CURB PROFITEERING

[06] CENTRAL BANK - FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES

[07] ECONOMISTS SUPPORT GRAIN PRICE LIBERALIZATION

[08] INTELLIGENCE CHIEF REPLACED

[09] HUMANITARIAN AID FOR BULGARIA

[10] REPORT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR THE PREVENTION OF TORTURE ON BULGARIA

[11] EMIGRANTS FROM BULGARIA - PROFILE

[12] CHESS: FOUR BULGARIANS JOIN TOP HUNDRED IN THE WORLD

[01] BULGARIA INTRODUCES VISA FREE REGIME FOR EU NATIONALS

Foreign Minister Stoyan Stalev said he hopes this step will prompt establishing eased visa requirements for Bulgarians travelling to the EU countries. In the negotiations to this effect Bulgaria will ask for visas free of charge first and after that for waiving visa requirements altoghther, Minister Stalev stated.

The Foreign Minister said he is sure the abolishment of visa requirements for EU nationals will prompt the EU countries to take similar steps. The issue will be raised during the talks EU External Relations Commissioner Hans van den Broek who is expected to have on his visit here in mid-March, as well as with German Foreign Minister Kinkel who will be in Bulgaria late March. The problem will be discussed at meetings of the EU Council of Ministers in Brussels as the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry is ready with the reasoning behind these requirements, he noted. In the Foreign Minister's view, the abolishing of visa requirements will cause certain fiscal losses for Bulgaria but the latter will be compensated with larger revenues to tourism.

"I don't think that the new visa free regime will cause a rise of crime," said Interior Minister Bonev. Bonev assured his Ministry will undertake measures to alleviate the existing control over incoming EU citizens. The new attitude towards the incoming Europeans will be first felt at the Sofia Airport, the Minister said. On the other hand the Interior Ministry will take the necessary steps to restrict the transit of Third World nationals which was one of the reasons why Bulgaria was included in the Schengen visa blacklist, Bonev stated.

[02] BULGARIA CLOSES DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS

[03] CONSULTATIONS ON ACCESSION TO NATO

The programme of the consultations provides for meetings at deputy minister level, consultations with the NATO Political Committee and meetings at North Atlantic Council level.

The Defence Ministry has formed a group to estimate the financial aspects of Bulgaria's accession to NATO, the Deputy Defence Minister said. The top command staff of the Bulgarian army supports the decision of the cabinet of February 17 for Bulgaria to apply for NATO membership, Kunchev said.

Bulgaria is actively involved in NATO's Partnership for Peace Initiative (PfP) and peacekeeping operations. Bulgaria has taken part in joint exercises with other partner states and NATO members, includung several on its own territory. Widening multilateral and bilateral cooperation is being pursued between Bulgaria, the PfP partners and the Allies in military technology, military science, military medicine, personnel training, information services etc. Bulgaria is also interested in joint military- industrial production and mastering know-how under NATO standards.

[04] PM BRIEFS POLITICAL FORCES ON IMF TALKS

PM Sofiyanski briefed his guests about the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank on a new standby agreement and the programme for stabilization and restructuring of the Bulgarian economy. IMF Mission Leader for Bulgaria Anne McGuirk has been in Bulgaria for two weeks now. Consultations are under way and the parameters of a possible agreement with the IMF are being discussed.

"We stand a chance to reach agreement on all issues despite some differences," the PM told journalists after the meeting, commenting on the letter of intention handed to the IMF mission on Thursday. The new standby arrangements will be concluded on the basis of this letter.

The PM said that next week, having specified the parameters of the agreement, it will be probably possible to hold more concrete talks. He explained that the document was in three parts: proposals concerning structural reforms and social policy (already finalized) and financial policy proposals.

In the meantime the cabinet's press office said that there are no principled differences between the IMF mission and Bulgaria on the major points of the frame agreement. This emerged after Thursday's working meeting of the Financial Stabilization Council, chaired by PM Stefan Sofiyanski, and the IMF mission headed by Anne McGuirk.

Most probably the frame agreement will be finalized by the end of next week, the press office said. Meanwhile McGuirk will remain in Bulgaria.

The cabinet will seek maximum acceleration of the privatization of enterprises and banks, the press office said. According to the press release, not only banks in trouble but ones in good financial state and banks potentially exposed to foreign currency troubles will also be put up for privatization.

After his meeting with the PM, Mouravei Radev, member of the UDF National Executive Board, said: "The consensus on the country's financial stabilization, on stopping further destruction and on the ways of overcoming the crisis is something the political forces should accept and then should in no way hinder the implementation of the measures this involves." "There is no difference between the UDF and the cabinet in this respect. We are prepared to provide a political guarantee that after the general elections, the UDF will continue to support the agreements the cabinet has reached with the international institutions," Radev said.

The meeting with BSP experts did not take place, "probably because the party leadership is busy with the election campaign," Sofiyansky believes. The PM said that on Monday, when he expects to have more detailed information, he will renew its invitation to the BSP.

"The BSP signed the agreement on the principles of resolving the crisis, we will stick to it and I believe there is no reason to pass censure on it," Sofiyanski said.

"We will continue to support the cabinet and all its actions concerned with the introduction of a currency board in Bulgaria," Euro-Left leader Alexander Tomov said after his meeting with PM Sofiyanski.

According to Tomov, attention should be paid to the discrepancy between the movement of exchange rates and prices because there is no reason for consumer goods prices to go up while the exchange rate of the US dollar moves in the opposite direction.

"The cabinet can rely on the support of the BBB in its efforts to implement the measures for introducing a currency board," a BBB spokesman said after the meeting of BBB experts with Sofiyanski.

"By the end of this week the cabinet will be ready with its programme document on which the standby agreement negotiations with the IMF will be based," PM Sofiyanski said in an interview for Radio Free Europe on Wednesday. One of the things the cabinet cannot accept at the moment is the IMF proposal for a shock increase of prices, the price of bread included, subsidizing the bread of the socially disadvantaged with the profit, the PM said in the interview.

[05] MEASURES TO CURB PROFITEERING

The using of cash registers becomes obligatory not only for retailers (as was up to now) but also for wholesale traders, Trade Minister Daniela Bobeva said. According to Interior Minister Bogomil Bonev, the purpose of introducing this measure is to monitor not only prices but also the turnover.

The Government is also discussing a mechanism to stimulate citizens require and collect receipts. The mechanism envisages incentives for these customers who give the tax authorities certain amount of receipts. The Finance Ministry should realize this idea which proved efficient in Greece and other countries, Minister Bonev stated.

In Minister Bobeva's view one of the main reasons for the spreading of profiteering in the country lies in the fact that traders avoid using cash registers. More than 500,000 companies have been registered in this country and the line of business of 90 percent of them is trading. However, one of the companies producing cash registers sold 22,000 cash registers in 1994, 10,000 in 1995 and less than 2,000 in 1995, the Trade Minister said.

More than 900 unemployed economists and engineers will be appointed as part- time assistants to the tax authorities. They will help monitor the measures against profiteering adopted by the Cabinet.

The Government approved stricter penalties for profiteers. One of them envisages revoking trading licences. Hitherto fines were form 20,000 leva to 500,000 leva (currently US dollar 1 exchanges for 1,600-1,7000 leva). The Interior Ministry will undertake serious measures against the organized criminal groupings, Minister Bonev also said.

Bulgaria is a member of the World Trade Organization and cannot afford taking tough measures restricting free home and foreign trade, so the administrative measures to control profiteering should be combined with market mechanisms, Trade Minister Bobeva said. Bobeva added that so far no Bulgarian institutions have registered under the exchange and market places law. Next Monday the Government will discuss the line-up of a special commission which will make such registrations. The liberalization of prices will also help to combat profiteering, Bobeva said.

The Government's decision on profiteering control was taken at the initiative of the Interior Ministry, the Government's press office said.

[06] CENTRAL BANK - FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES

The BNB revoked the licenses for closing banking transactions with foreign currency of seven foreign exchange offices in Sofia, Varna and other population centres in the country.

[07] ECONOMISTS SUPPORT GRAIN PRICE LIBERALIZATION

The government should quickly fix new grain prices and provide additional funds to producers for fertilizers and equipment, the head of the Institute of Agrieconomy Prof. Rangel Trendafilov said Thursday. He stressed the need for a national agricultural strategy.

The institute has developed such a programme through the year 2020 and presented it to the cabinet. It says grain exports should be liberalized this autumn, which would force the government to pay international prices to farmers, said Prof. Mihail Mihailov.

If domestic grain prices get close to the international, and export restrictions are lifted, the grain problem will be fully resolved, the scientists predict. Otherwise, grain shortages will inevitably persist.

The reason for the current grain crisis is not grain exports but poor pricing policies, the scientists believe. According to them, the low prices kill all incentives for farmers. The scientists support the demands of the Farmers Union to raise prices to 90% of the international. This would significantly increase the price of bread and the government will need to provide assistance to the poor, according to Prof. Anka Slavova.

The area sown last autumn and the state of the fields indicate the next harvest will be sufficient to meet domestic demand and repay recent emergency wheat exports, according to the scientists. They project the grain crop at 3 to 3.5 million t.

[08] INTELLIGENCE CHIEF REPLACED

Asparouhov and Gyaourov made brief statements following their meeting with the President and wished each other success. "It is the first time that the replacement of the NIS leadership is made in a civilized manner," Asparouhov noted.

Newly-appointed NIS Director Dimo Gyaourov (34) was born in Varna. He graduated from the english language school in his native city and later from the Law Faculty of the St Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia. In 1989-1990 he did his training practice at the Varna Regional Court and between 1991 and 1994 worked as a lawyer. Gyaourov was elected an MP to the 37th national assembly on the ticket of the United Democratic Forces. He was a member of the parliamentary committee on state bodies' organization and operation and the budgetary committee. Married with a four-year-old daughter. He was promoted to colonel only on Thursday.

[09] HUMANITARIAN AID FOR BULGARIA

Switzerland:

A large consignment of humanitarian aid from Switzerland has already arrived in Bulgaria, the Foreign Aid Agency told a news conference on Thursday. The donation includes 15 tonnes of infant formula, 30 tonnes of chocolate, 1,099 tonnes of bread grain, 10 tonnes of coffee as well as medicines worth 150,000 Swiss Francs.

The grain will be sold to the flour mills in western Bulgaria and around Sofia in Sofia at discount prices. The Swiss embassy, the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture and the Foreign Aid Agency have agreed that the proceeds will be put into a fund for support of Bulgarian agriculture.

The milk will be distributed among the municipal hospitals with children wards and the child centres, said Emilia Maslarova, head of the Foreign Aid Agency.

The Swiss Government is ready to donate also 400 tonnes of veal, however the state veterinary control service has not yet okayed the transfer of the meat into Bulgaria because of the existing danger of "mad cow" disease infection, Emilia Maslarova said.

Swiss Ambassador in Bulgaria Gaudenz Ruf told reporters that the same meat is on sale at the shops in Switzerland. Another 40 tonnes of canned meat from Switzerland also expects the permission of the veterinary control service to be sent to Bulgaria.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry has sent to Bulgaria its expert to monitor the distribution of the aid.

Greece:

A plane carrying 20 tonnes of food, donated by the Greek Government will arrive on Friday from Athens. The consignment includes 7 tonnes of flour, pasta, powder milk, lentils, sugar, rusks as well as 1.5 tonnes of cans, the Foreign Aid Agency said.

Bulgarian Red Cross:

By the end of the year the Bulgarian Red Cross (BRC) will distribute 50,000- 60,000 million leva worth of humanitarian aid at current US dollar exchange rate (1,667.10 leva/1 US dollar), the BRC leadership told a news conference on Thursday. The aid provided in 1996 amounted to a total of 100 million leva and in January, 1997 alone it adds up to over 500 million leva.

Spain:

Before his departure from the country at the end of his mission in Bulgaria Spanish Ambassador Jorge Fuentes handed to the BRC 9,000 US dollars donated by the Spanish Red Cross in support of the poorest in Bulgarian. Mr Fuentes said that the Spanish Red Cross is ready to provide 100,000 US dollars in support of the BRC's programmes. The funds will be transferred as soon as Mr Fuentes confers with the Chairman of the Spanish Red Cross.

Germany:

The BRC leadership reported the arrival of the second tranche of the donation of the German concern Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung to the amount of 100,000 Deutschemarks. The donation will mostly go for furnishing child care establishments.

[10] REPORT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR THE PREVENTION OF TORTURE ON BULGARIA

Under Article 11 of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the information gathered by the Committee in relation to a visit, its report and its consultations with the State concerned are confidential. However, the State concerned may agree to lift the rule of confidentiality provided for in the Convention.

The CPT delegation visited nine establishments of the police and the National Investigative Service, the prisons in Pazardjik and Stara Zagora (Southern Bulgaria), the prison hospital and the Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Lovech (Northern Bulgaria) and the Psychiatric Hospital in Radnevo. The CPT report is 147 pages long.

An eight-page summary of the main findings was attached to the report. Following are some of these findings:

During its visit the CPT delegation received numerous allegations of ill- treatment by the police of persons suspected of criminal offences. In contrast, there were hardly any allegations of ill-treatment by the staff of the National Investigative Service. The allegations concerned kicks, punches, slaps and stamping. Certain persons complained of blows struck with wooden objects or metal or plastic pipes.

A number of persons making allegations of ill-treatment were found, on examination by medical members of the delegation, to display physical marks or other medical conditions consistent with their allegations.

In the light of all the information at its disposal, the CPT concluded that criminal suspects deprived of their liberty by the police in Bulgaria run a significant risk of being ill-treated at the time of their apprehension and/or while in police custody, and that on occasion resort may be made to severe illtreatment/torture.

The CPT stressed the fundamental importance of suitable education on human rights questions for police officers of all ranks and categories, and of adequate training in combatting illtreatment. One of the most effective means of preventing illtreatment by police officers lies in the diligent examination by the judicial authorities of all complaints of such treatment and, where appropriate, the imposition of a suitable penalty.

The material conditions of detention in the police establishments visited by the CPT delegation failed to meet the Committee's basic requirements. Almost without exception, the conditions in the National Investigative Service detention facilities visited by the CPT delegation could fairly be described as degrading.

The CPT was most pleased to learn that the detention facility of the 3rd District Investigative Service in Sofia was withdrawn from service for renovation following the delegation's visit.

The CPT recommended a number of steps by the Bulgarian authorities to palliate the unacceptable situation observed in National Investigative Service detention facilities.

The CPT delegation found no evidence of torture in the two prison establishments visited and heard no allegations of such acts in other prisons in Bulgaria.

However, numerous complaints were made of verbal abuse of prisoners by prison staff and there were also a number of allegations of physical ill- treatment. The CPT delegation also established that practically all prisoners in the two prisons visited were accommodated in overcrowded conditions and had inadequate access to proper sanitary facilities.

The CPT delegation established that the material conditions of detention in the disciplinary cells of the prison in Stara Zagora were totally unacceptable. The CPT also recommended that the regime applied to prisoners sentenced to death be revised.

The CPT delegation heard no allegations of torture of patients in the three psychiatric establishments it visited. Some allegations were heard of ill- treatment (notably slap) of patients by staff at the Psychiatric Hospital in Radnevo.

The CPT expressed concern about the information gathered by its delegation regarding the use of electroconvulsive therapy without anaesthetic or muscle relaxants.

The living conditions of patients in the three psychiatric establishments visited leave a great deal to be desired. Most of the wards were overcrowded and meagerly equipped.

The CPT delegation was positively impressed by the treatment of patients at the Radnevo Hospital involving both medication and therapeutic activities. In the other two hospitals treatment was limited essentially to pharmacotherapy.

The CPT stressed the devotion to patient care displayed by health-care staff in the three psychiatric establishments visited.

London, March 6 (BTA) - Amnesty International calls on the President of Bulgaria to take immediate steps to prevent further deaths of children and young people at the Home for Mentally Handicapped Children in Dzhourkovo, Luki municipality (Southern Bulgaria), said a fax of the international human rights organization received at BTA Thursday.

Seven inhabitants died from malnutrition and hypothermia (cold) while they were wards in the home between January 31 and February 27 1997. "That these children have suffered such extreme neglect is totally unacceptable and constitutes severe cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment," Amnesty International said.

"The government should take immediate steps to prevent further deaths by initiating prompt and independent inquiry into conditions at the home and ensure that the basic requirements for food, clothing and heating are provided," the fax read.

Amnesty International has received reports that the situation in other institutions caring for orphans and children with mental and other disabilities is also very serious, although not as grave as in Dzhourkovo.

"We are aware that the present social and economic situation in Bulgaria is grave. However, the circumstances surrounding these deaths indicate that the government is failing to meet its obligation under international human rights standards to prevent such appalling treatment of those in care," Amnesty international said.

[11] EMIGRANTS FROM BULGARIA - PROFILE

The largest number of Bulgarian emigrants went to Germany. According to German statistics, they dropped to 45,000 in 1995 from 59,000 in 1993.

New trends have been observed in the last few years, Kalchev said. After the fall of the totalitarian regime, in 1989 alone 218,000 Bulgarians left the country, most of them of Turkish origin. There were 86,000 emigrants in 1990. Recently emotional and ethnic reasons have given way to economic reasons, Kalchev said.

Statistics for 1992 show that about 14 per cent of the emigrants had not finished secondary school, 53 per cent had finished secondary school and about 20 per cent were university graduates. By contrast, in 1996 a mere 3 per cent were poorly educated, 61 per cent had finished secondary school and 31 per cent were university graduates. The number of highly educated emigrants is growing.

Bulgarians also go abroad to work or study. Statistics register as emigrants those who have spent over 12 months abroad.

[12] CHESS: FOUR BULGARIANS JOIN TOP HUNDRED IN THE WORLD

Vesselin Topalov is 6th, with an Elo rating of 2727.00 points, and is expected to climb to 5th place after calculating the results of an international tournament in Linares, Spain.

Kiril Georgiev is 27th, and will join the top 20 in March after adding 12 Elo points gained in a tournament last January.

Vassil Spassov is 88th, with an Elo rating of 2585.00 points.

Antoaneta Stefanova is 15th among women, with an Elo rating of 2417.20 points.

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