Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA), 96-11-15

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From: Embassy of Bulgaria <[email protected]>

EMBASSY OF BULGARIA - WASHINGTON D.C.

BTA - BULGARIAN TELEGRAPH AGENCY

15 November, 1996

CONTENTS

[01] OTHER MINISTERS' RESIGNATIONS?

[02] COMMENTS ON BSP PLENUM

[03] BULGARIA - CURRENCY BOARD

[04] BULGARIA - TURKEY

[05] WHITE PAPER ON BANK BANKRUPTCIES

[06] SEASONAL FACTORS INCREASE UNEMPLOYMENT

[01] OTHER MINISTERS' RESIGNATIONS?

Interior Minister Nikolai Dobrev is also ready to step down as Cabinet member, "Novinar" says on its front page. According to unidentified sources Dobrev will be the next minister to hand in his resignation.

"After Georgi Pirinski stepped down, I do not rule out the possibility for Atanas Paparisov to resign [as Minister of Trade and Foreign Economic Cooperation] and probably some other ministers," MP of the UDF and former prime minister Filip Dimitrov says, interviewed for "Troud".

The dailies quote UDF leader Ivan Kostov as saying that they "shall certainly provoke another resignation over the many gross violations of the law and cases of corruption." Mr Kostov promised yesterday to launch a serious attack against one of the ministers in the Government's economic team, without specifying any names. "Continent" writes that according to participants in the meeting of the UDF's supreme council on Tuesday, Kostov talked about the violations committed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development Roumen Gechev in connection with the purchase of the Sheraton hotel in Sofia by the South-Korean group Daewoo as well as with some other privatization deals.

"Continent" comments that during the parliamentary debates on Pirinski's resignation, the MPs will probably demand replacement of the ministers in the Government's economic team. "Serious discontent has been accumulated among most MPs of the Left against Deputy PM Gechev," the daily says.

[02] COMMENTS ON BSP PLENUM

According to a signed commentary in "Douma", "Videnov is almost in time trouble". Stressing on the fact that there are about 40 days left before the party's congress, the author says that the Prime Minister should fit in this short period and "implement the financial measures for stabilization of the country under the signed agreements with the international financial institutions and start the technical studies on their new proposal for the introduction of a currency board." In December the Prime Minister should come up with a report about the Government's performance during the first two years of its mandate as well as with draft programmes for financial stabilization, for the structural reforms and for the economic growth guarantees. "It is difficult to predict whether he will have the time and the strength to do all this," a signed commentary in "Douma" writes.

"Douma" reports about a frustrated motion of no confidence in the Cabinet and its social policy. No opposition MP signed yesterday the motion, initiated by three independent MPs (defectors from the Bulgarian Business Bloc), the daily writes.

"Standart News" runs the results from a telephone opinion poll conducted by the FAKT agency, according to which three-fourths of the Bulgarian citizens have been disappointed with the BSP plenum. 73 per cent of the respondents consider Videnov incapable of ruling, 11 per cent support him and 12 per cent cannot say.

"The marathon plenum of the top Socialists is just the bell toll, proclaiming the public death of the party," "Troud" says.

According to "Standart News", opposition MPs commented yesterday in Parliament's lobby that the parliamentary group of the Left is on the verge of disintegration. No MP of the Left denied these claims, the daily specifies. "The BSP is facing a split," reads a commentary in "Novinar". According to the author this was to be expected sooner or later. "The faster the BSP disintegrates into its mutually exclusive parts, the sooner it will leave space for a normal political Left party in Bulgaria," reads a story in "Demokratsiya".

The extraordinary congress of the BSP will decide on the future of the party and one of the alternatives is a split, says in an interview for "Standart News" MP Filip Bokov of the BSP, who is one of the three who resigned as members of the BSP supreme council after PM Videnov survived a no confidence vote. Interviewed for "Pari" Mr Bokov would not answer if he will leave the BSP if the reformists in the party fail to persuade the congress in the need to introduce changes.

"Novinar" runs an interview with Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Policy Nikolai Kamov, who also resigned from the BSP's leadership. In his view "the party's top leadership is renouncing its responsibility."

[03] BULGARIA - CURRENCY BOARD

"The currency board is an attractive idea deserving attention. But if established without the measures it involves, the board may fail already at the very beginning and the consequences for Bulgaria will be disastrous," the President's Advisor for Legislative Affairs Virdjiniya Velcheva says in an article in the "Continent" paper.

"Pari" runs the results of an opinion poll conducted by the PARI Agency for Social and Marketing Research showing that the idea of a currency board is approved by the Sofianites.

[04] BULGARIA - TURKEY

"Standart News" also covers yesterday's meeting between Gyunner and Dikme. The paper quotes Foreign Minister Georgi Pirinski who said in Kurdjali (Southern Bulgaria) in October that it is not Bulgaria that impedes the introduction of relieved visa requirements between the two countries.

[05] WHITE PAPER ON BANK BANKRUPTCIES

The document will be sent to Prosecutor General Ivan Tatarchev, with copies to National Assembly Chairman Blagovest Sendov, President Zhelyu Zhelev, the parliamentary Committee on Corruption and the chairmen of the parliamentary groups, Sougarev said. He made public a similar study in late October. The Committee on Corruption will urge the dismissal of Bulgarian National Bank Governor Lyubomir Filipov and the manager of the State Savings Bank Bistra Dimitrova, he said. However, a "clean hands" operation in the present Parliament is hardly possible, he said in answer to a question. "I will be the happiest man, if this Parliament dissolves itself," Sougarev said.

"Under all governments following the downfall of Communist dictator Todor Zhivkov in 1989, there has hardly been a banker in Bulgaria not closely connected with either the former Communist Party or Young Communist League 'aristocracy', or with the structures of the totalitarian State Security and the Interior Ministry," says the document. Sougarev enumerates and analyzes several methods which he says were used to strip banks of cash. More specifically, he quotes a secret Interior Ministry report on the state of the banking system in this country and the reasons for the banking crisis, which will be appended to the white paper but was not discussed with the media.

Preparations for illegal privatization in the banking sector and the transfer of public funds into private safes began as early as 1987, Mr. Edvin Sougarev says in the chapter "Genesis of the Bank Catastrophe". The white paper contains chapters entitled "Economic Bank: Creditor of the Underworld", "Agrobusiness Bank, or Buying 9,000 M Debt for 1 Lev", "SIR Bank, or Sweeping Things Under the Rug". Sougarev accused a number of bankers of corruption and unlawful machinations.

The term "banking mafia" was used in confidential reports on the situation in banking by the secret services, Sougarev said. There are "credit" millionaires and billionaires among the members of Parliament too, according to him. The system has accommodated quite a few people, not all of them Socialists, in several consecutive parliaments, he said. The Committee on Corruption will probe a very serious case of corruption in the Cabinet at a closed-door meeting next week, Sougarev said, declining to name the Cabinet minister in question and his sources.

Sougarev summed up the collapse of the financial system as follows: an internal debt of 670,000 million leva; 80,000 million leva in deposits of members of the public in bankrupt banks or banks placed under special supervision which will mount to 200,000 million leva; government securities valued at 12-digit figures; and debt service payments of 1,300 million dollars due in 1997, with the foreign exchange reserves at slightly over 500 million dollars. "Against these huge debts we have a ruined, dying, robbed banking system, a crippled economy, an ageing population half of which lives on pensions and welfare entitlements," Sougarev wrote in the white paper.

[06] SEASONAL FACTORS INCREASE UNEMPLOYMENT

The number of registered unemployed entitled to unemployment benefits increased by 10.2% and of those not entitled to such benefits by 5.6%. Registered unemployed not entitled to social relief decreased by 1.6% and reached 37,977 in October. The main cause of unemployment growth is decrease in the number of seasonal workers, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and NES chief Milcho Dimitrov told the news conference. Seasonal work is offered mainly in construction, forestry and agriculture.

In October the inflow of unemployed totalled 72,580, marking a 43.3% increase from the previous month. This increase was the result of completion of seasonal work in many regions, autumn discharge of conscripts and the current liquidation of loss makers.

A total of 13,189 workers have been laid off so far from state owned companies under liquidation, Dimitrov also said. (This May the Government earmarked 64 state-owned loss makers for liquidation. The NES is expecting lists with the number and qualification of severed workers.

Unqualified workers dominated the structure of newly- registered unemployed with 49.5% while higher education specialists and qualified workers accounted for 20.1 and 30.4% respectively.

Demand in labour force also decreased in October under the influence of seasonal factors, today's NES bulletin says. The number of offered jobs decreased by 39.6% from September and now totals 11,326. Demand in unqualified workers is highest - 47.8%, followed by demand in experts - 29.7%.

Sixty-two firms were licensed to act as intermediaries in hiring labour in October and 463 were licensed to train personnel. A total of 12,603 jobs were filled through the mediation of the NES employment agencies which is 26.3% down from the previous month. The agencies organized 211 training courses for unemployed, the NES told BTA.

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