The topic of corruption kept its strong presence in the Bulgarian national press during the period under consideration – November 20-26, 1999. The total number of publications in the past 7 days was 156 vs. 191 for the period between November 13 and 19, 1999. From those 156 stories, 120 were news reports and 36 - analyses, commentaries and interviews.

The distribution of publications on corruption in the dailies was as follows: 24 Chassa – 24; Sega – 21; Novinar – 19; Standart – 18; Trud – 16; Monitor – 15; Democratsia –14; Duma –11; Pari –10. The distribution of publications on corruption in the weeklies as follows: Kapital – 5; Cash – 3; 168 Chassa –2.

The media attention in the period of November 20-26,1999 was focused on the visit of the US President Bill Clinton to Bulgaria. In his speech, delivered on “Alexander Nevski” square, the American Head of the state raised the question about the fight against corruption. Bulgarian newspapers reprinted the commentaries and analyses on President Clinton’s visit to Bulgaria published by foreign media, where the topic of corruption was also present.

During the past seven days the Bulgarian media continued to cover the trial against the MP from the Bulgarian Euroleft party, Tzvetelin Kanchev, accused of extortion and robbery. The press paid attention to the misappropriation of social and health care fund as well.

The main event of the past week was undoubtedly the visit to Bulgaria of the US President Bill Clinton. In his speech, addressed to the people of Bulgaria and made on “Alexander Nevski” square on November 22, the US President cautioned against corruption and posed the question about finding ways of fighting it. An excerpt of President Clinton’s speech follows: “Today the United States of America and Bulgaria signed agreements that will encourage more US companies to do business here and to hire employees in both countries – the United States and Bulgaria. We have taken appropriate measures to help you with fighting corruption once and for all. So that I can say frankly to all the people in America, in Europe and all over the world: this a beautiful country, come and help Bulgaria to build its future.”

“The very fact that the President Clinton mentioned the problem of corruption means that it has become intolerable for the world as well. Our rulers should take immediate and decisive measures [against corruption], Prof. Mincho Semov commented in an interview for Trud daily, November 24, entitled “Clinton gave us a chance” (taken by Valeria Veleva).

In connection with the visit of the President Clinton to Bulgaria, the Times of London commented: “The western European leaders have warned the Balkan states that unless they curb corruption, open their markets and begin to collaborate closer with one another, the West will not hurry up to accept them in the European Union and NATO.”

When asked what measures will be taken in order to help Bulgaria with fighting corruption, Nadezhda Mihailova, minister of foreign affairs, responded: ”First of all, one of the most efficient ways to fight corruption is the efficient implementation of anti-corruption legislation. This, to a great extent means cooperation between security services and the police units controlling the borders.” (quoted in Standart daily, November 24, ”Clinton is not Santa Claus”).

- Political parties. Local party leaders have entered company boards all over the country, Pancho Panayotov, an MP from the United Democratic Forces (UDF) said in an interview for Sega daily. “All this happened in a most arrogant and outrageous way, in front of those who elected us… Unfortunately, that mentality to enrich yourself at any cost exists also among people at the highest levels of the power.” (“Ivan Must Brandish the Stick” by Anna Klisarska/.

The MP from the Euroleft party, Georgi Dilkov, also known under the nickname The Lord, and the wife of Tzvetelin Kanchev have paid bribes to witnesses, according to the businessman Hristo Varbanov interviewed by Novinar daily, November 24, 1999 (”The Lord has Paid Bribes together with Stanka” by Svetlana Georgieva). In the words of Varbanov, Dilkov took part in the financial machinations of the MP, Tzvetelin Kanchev.

The UDF MP from Roma origin Assen Hristov, who asked London for political asylum, escaped from Bulgaria because of a scandal involving money, a Roma leader told 24 Chassa daily of November 26, 1999. Thoma Nikolaev, deputy chair of the Roma association “Kupate,” claimed that Assen had extorted company directors by using the names of ministers.

- Executive power. Sega daily of November 22, published an analysis by Konstantin Karaivanov devoted to the possible removal of the deputy PM Evgenii Bakardzhiev under the headline “The Removal of Bakardzhiev – Mission Impossible.” The author points out that if Bakardzhiev is removed from his position, this will start a battle with discrediting materials inside the executive power. “The deputy PM knows a lot about the ways of financing the UDF and about some controversial decisions of the executive power,” reads the story. The minister of interior, Bogomil Bonev, and the deputy PM Alexander Bozhkov also have discrediting information at their disposal, the author reminds.

In connection with the lawsuit by the minister of interior, Bogomil Bonev, against Ventzeslav Dimitrov, an MP from the Movement for National Salvation, Dimitrov’s lawyer, the former Attorney General Ivan Tatarchev, asked the court to clarify the involvement of Bonev’s legal counselor, Todor Tabakov, in the so-called Coffee affair. Tabakov, who is also a law officer to the ministry of finance, has been accused by Dimitrov of cooperating with coffee importers. Furthermore, Tatarchev asked whether Bonev knew the amount of damage he caused to the budget by his recommendations to the government concerning the reduction of import tariffs for coffee and whether he knew that in this way he protected criminals (24 Chassa daily, November 20, 1999).

On November 25, 1999 the media reported that Rumen Ovcharov, an MP from the Bulgarian Socialistic Party (BSP), had filed a lawsuit against the minister of interior Bogomil Bonev, claiming damages at the amount to 12 000 leva. On November 26, 1999 all dailies reported that Ventzeslav Dimitrov intended to bring to the Attorney General, Nicola Filchev, a file containing evidence of financial machinations concerning the import of coffee and to insist on investigation. “He [Ventzeslav Dimitrov} claims that he possesses sure evidence about political protections of coffee importers that have incurred losses to the state estimated at about DM 70 million (Sega daily, November 26).

The ministry of foreign affairs is selling the Bureau for Services to the Diplomatic Corps (BSDC) because, after failing to win local elections, the rulers want to acquire control of assets still available until it is not too late, according to officials from the BSDC, quoted in an investigative report by George Gotev published in Sega daily of November 25, 1999 under the title “The BSDC, the Goose that Lays Golden Eggs, is on Sale.”

- Legislative power. The National Assembly is suing the former director of the National Institute for the Study of Public Opinion, Assen Yossifov, who is accused of financial violations, the chief secretary to the Parliament, Valentin Georgiev, announced, cited by all dailies of November 26 (see Standart). In 1997 Yossifov embezzled 500 000 old leva. The money was paid to a firm that had to fulfil a public order but the order was not fulfilled. Instead of returning the money to the state, Yossifov had put it in his own pocket.

- Banking sector. An analysis by Nadezhda Kiradzhieva and Ivan Mihalev published in Kapital weekly under the title “BNB (Bulgarian National Bank) attacks misappropriations of funds in Balkanbank,” continues the investigation started by the newspaper a week earlier about abuse of power by Balkanbank trustees. According to the article, after Balkanbank was declared bankrupt, one of its main debtors, Multigroup, did its best to take control of the bank by using some of the bank trustees as proxies. The authors suggests that it is very likely for BNB to purpose the former Balkanbank trustee, Valentin Georgiev, to be excluded from the list of trustees.

The former director of the State Savings Fund (SSF), Bistra Dimitrova, is under investigation for abusing state funds, Democratsia daily reported on November 24. Dimitrova is yet to be charged and for this reason it is difficult to say how many billions of leva have been drained from the SSF in the form of loans for private banks.

- Economy. The state budget for the year 2000 benefits the bureaucracy and creates preconditions for corruption, reads an analysis by the MP from the BSP, Peter Dimitrov, published in Duma daily of November 23, 1999 under the title “Budget 2000 or Balloon 2000.”

According to the financier Emil Harsev, corruption is hidden in 60% of the budget for the next year, reports Monitor daily of November 24. In an article published in 24 Chassa daily of November 26, 1999 under the headline “There is a black coffer in the budget” Harsev wrote that a huge second budget, including the money from external financing, was hidden behind the official one. “Bulgaria’s present rulers intend to spend a total of 12.6 billion leva in the next and possibly last year of their ruling... The money from outside loans is the most wanted and easiest to spend…”

- Social spending. The money appropriated for the disabled is being spent carelessly, the deputy minister of social affairs, Tatyana Vassileva, admitted in an interview for Sega daily, November 23. In the words of Vassileva, “many doctors have become distributors of the companies importing various medicines.” (“Social Workers Should be Like Will Tanner from “ALF,” an article by Vesselin Stoinev).

- Health. Four health ministers spent on other things the 2.2 billion old leva allocated for the treatment of patients suffering from tuberculosis, the National Audit Office found out (see Standart daily, November 25, 1999). The financial machinations took place at the time of the former health ministers, Tancho Gougalov, Mimi Vitkova, Emil Takov and the current health minister, Peter Boyadzhiev.

- Corruption is only one aspect of the abuse of power, according to Pancho Panayotov, an MP from the UDF, interviewed by Sega daily of November 22, 1999 (“Ivan Must Brandish the Stick” by Anna Klisarska).

“Maybe in the past Multigroup benefited from its political connections but more often than all we have suffered from the political connections of our competitors because every new government regards power as an opportunity for receiving bribes and settling old hostilities,” the president of Multigroup, Ilia Pavlov, said in an interview for Monitor daily, November 20, 1999 published under the title “Welcome to the President Clinton from all my heart” ( taken by Nikolina Nikolova).

- Transparent corruption. The definition belongs to the MP from the BSP, Peter Dimitrov, who used in his analysis published in Duma daily of November 23, 1999 under the headline “Budget 2000 or Balloon 2000.” Corruption is so transparent and so visible by everybody that it demoralizes the nation and the country's economy, Dimitrov wrote in his analysis.

- Draining of money from enterprises and institutions. The case with the State Saving Funds, described in Democratsia daily of November 24, 1999.

Michail Mikov, an MP from BSP, Novinar daily, November 22, when asked to comment on the high fines recommended by the Tax Procedure Code: “When the fines are so high, they create premises for corruption. Especially in the case when fines for the citizens are higher than those for tax officials.”

Alexander Pramatarski, deputy chair of the Democratic party, Kapital weekly, November 20-26: “Corruption is where there is power – that is the truth. Making information about it public is only part of the problem. The other part of the problem is that politicians should not always wait for evidence. When the degree of the public intolerance to corruption becomes high, the ruling majority should take the necessary steps no matter whether there is evidence or not. Society expects such steps, mainly from Ivan Kostov.”

Ivan Krastev, political scholar, Democratsia daily, November 23: “For me the problem of corruption is most of all a political problem concerning the evaluation of one politician or another. It is not so much a problem of what evidence could be made public and proven in court.”

24 Chassa daily of November 20, 1999 published an analysis by Alexenia Dimitrova devoted to the second annual meeting of the countries in transition against corruption, held in Istanbul (“ Where is the strong Georgian hand!”). The article says that at the meeting Bulgaria was presented by two “foundations, which are in charge of the battle against corruption, Coalition 2000 and the local branch of Transparency International.” The representatives of both organizations presented “good anti-corruption action plans but it is unlikely that anybody in Sofia will read them.”

The Civil Movement “Gergyovden” has suggested that the former auditor Emil Dimitrov be appointed the head of the agency against corruption envisaged in the Law against Corruption, submitted last week to the National Assembly by UDF MPs, Novinar daily reported on November 22. According to Dimitrov, the Agency could work efficiently only if it is subordinated directly to the PM and employs officials from different ministries.

In an interview for 24 Chassa daily (November 23, 1999) Dimitrov said that a similar law against corruption was drafted two years ago but at that time its adoption was postponed. According to the former auditor, “the submission to Parliament of the new draft is intended to impress Atkinson and Gjellerod [observers of the Council of Europe]” (“Yordan Tzonev stopped the law against corruption two years ago,” interview by Alexenia Dimitrova/.

In connection with the law against corruption Sega daily (November 22, 1999) points in a commentary that the agency to be created by the new law would duplicate at least five other structures – the Service for Preventing Tax Crimes, the Customs, the State Financial Control Directorate, the National Service for Combating Organized Crime, the Bureau for Financial Investigation and, to some extent, the police, the investigation office and the Office of the Attorney General (“Corruption to be fought by a new agency in a row” by Peter Kostov).

The government will initiate amendments to legislation that would allow for the legal prosecution of representatives of local authorities in case of embezzlement of municipal funds, a cabinet meeting agreed on November 19, 1999, according to a report in Pari daily of November 22.

All dailies of November 25 reported that the leadership and the MPs from the Bulgarian Euroleft Party would make public their property and incomes. The information was provided by the leader of the party, Alexander Tomov (see Standart daily). Tomov mentioned the date February 2, 2000 as the deadline for providing the information. The decision was a result of the policy of transparency adopted by the Euroleft.

Christopher Hill, special foreign policy advisor to the President Clinton, answered a question by Kapital weekly (November 20-26, 1999) about the ways for combating the wide-spread organized crime and corruption in the region of Balkans in the following way: “Bulgaria already knows how difficult these issues are because they had a grave impact on your country. First of all, it is necessary that we have an adequate judicial system and adequate police forces..” (“We would like to see the Balkans on a solid ground to Europe,” an interview by Margarita Assenova).

Jacques Wunenburger, head of the Delegation of the European Commission Delegation to Sofia, told the Bulgarian National Radio (quoted by 24 Chassa daily, November 20, 1999): “I think that the biggest progress should be made in the fight against corruption. Progress should be made in the judicial system as well but, talking about the judicial system, I mean not only criminal justice but also the punishment of economic crime…”

Adam Michnik, one of the founders of the Polish “Solidarity” movement said at the international conference dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the start of changes in the Eastern-European countries, which was hosted by the “Zhelyu Zhelev” foundation (quoted in Standart daily, November 22): “It is unlikely for corruption to be liquidated by the adoption of a single law against it. It is a matter of public awareness, of political and economic culture.”

Organized crime and corruption in the region of the Balkans hinder the implementation of the Stability Pact, according to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Walter Schwimmer (24 Chassa daily, November 26).

The observers of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Atkinson and Gjellerod, will visit Bulgaria in December, Sega daily reported on November 24, 1999. The observers were interested in the pressure that the police exercised on the media in the controversial case known as “Lovechgate”. Atkinson and Gjellerod also intend to meet with the former auditor, Emil Dimitrov, with whom they would like to discuss the problem of corruption.

According to 61% of the respondents in a nationwide survey, which polled 1,100 persons, in 5 years Bulgaria will be famous all over the world for its level of corruption. The survey was conducted in October this year and its results were reported at the conference “The contribution of social studies to the policy of economic and social recovery” organized by Sofia University “St. Climent Ohridski” together with the Bulgarian Institute for Development (see Novinar daily, October 24). According to 43% of the survey respondents, individuals and groups that most often benefit by privatization are those close to the authorities.