Géopolitiques de la Bulgarie

01 novembre 2007

Bulgarian Medics Released from Libya Established NGO

Bulgarian medics that came back home after 8 years in Libyan prison established a foundation - ‘May 8'.

The NGO's main purpose is to fight for the right of free and deserving life, along with organizing actions of release of wrongly convicted.

We will fight for the abolition of the death penalty, said doctor Zdravko Georgiev.

Chairperson of National Assembly Georgy Pirinski and vice Foreign Minister Feim Chaushev attended the establishment ceremony.

http://international.ibox.bg/news/id_111319183

26 septembre 2007

Grateful Bulgaria Welcomes HIV Discoverer Luc Montagnier

Luc Montagnier, one of the doctors who helped first isolate the HIV virus, arrives in Sofia on Wednesday to be awarded for his contribution to the release of the seven Bulgarian medics from Libya's jails.

Montagnier, who played a key role in proving the innocence of the medics, accused of deliberately infecting with HIV more than 400 Libyan children, will be conferred a Golden Laurel Badge at the Foreign Ministry.

During the medics' trial, Luc Montagnier from the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France, testified that the hospital epidemic began before the accused started working at the hospital.

The comprehensive scientific reports by Montagnier and Vittorio Colizzi, an AIDS researcher at the University of Tor Vergata in Rome, Italy, proved beyond doubt that unhygienic medical practices fuelled the outbreak.

On the basis of case records and genomic analyses done in Europe, they proved that some of the children had been infected even before the workers' arrival at the hospital. The HIV infections, the experts concluded, were caused by poor sanitary practices.

The scientific evidence was ultimately thrown out, but drummed worldwide support for the release of the medics.
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=85714

05 septembre 2007

Dr. Ashraf is invited to continue education in Medical University in Bulgaria’s Varna

5 September 2007 | 14:35 | FOCUS News Agency

Varna. Doctor Ashraf has been invited to continue his education in medicine in the Medical University in the Bulgarian seaside town of Varna, District Governor Petar Kandilarov announced after meeting with two of the Bulgarian medics who returned from Libya – Valentina Siropulo and Palestinian doctor Ashraf, Radio Focus-Varna reports. Ashraf invited Kandilarov to his wedding on December 1st. Valentina Siropulo noted that the “You are not alone” campaign should go on as a protection to all innocent prisoners all over the world. She added only when the thruth about the innocence of the five nurses and Palestinian doctor is unveiled, they would be able to live normally. Dr. Ashraf hopes at least Europe will understand and evaluate the fact. According to him the name of Bulgaria has to be cleared off any suspicions. Viktoria IVANOVA

Cécilia Sarkozy breaks the silence

5 September 2007 | 11:15 | AFRIK.COM/FOCUS News Agency

In her first major interview to explain her role in securing the release of the five Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor from a Libyan jail, Cecilia Sarkozy told the L'Est Republicain she had offered only medical aid in exchange for the freedom of six medics in July, while the Lybian leader Muammar Qaddafi took advantage from this case to make a humanitarian gesture that could improve his image.

Cécilia Sarkozy finally revealed precise details on her role in the release of the six foreign medics from Libyan jail on July 24, who spent more than eight years in Libya being accused of having deliberately infected some 400 children with the virus AIDS - a charge that was constantly denied by the medics.

Why has France's First Lady left the reserve in which her husband confined when it firmly declared that she “[would make] no declaration on the issue”? “I am shocked that some media use such a human drama and exploit the suffering of the medics, the children and their families”, Cecilia Sarkozy said in her wish to shed light on the issue explaining that she bears responsibility before the French society and to some parliamentary inquiry committee whose formation was demanded by the opposition in France.

The key part of the negotiations

Cécilia Sarkozy, who was in aided in her efforts for the medics’ release by the secretary general of the Elysium Claude Guéant and the European Commissioner for foreign relations Benita-Ferrero Waldner, stressed that “what occurred at the time of my mission to Libya has nothing to do nothing to do with the ongoing right-left. For my part, I concentrated on the release of the nurses and these children who have lived through a hell for 8 years”. She explained that she had “negotiated for 50 hours with Libyan representatives for the release of the medics, including the Lybian leader Muammar Qaddafi - “in English, tête-à-tête, without interpreter”. “I think he understood that through me, he could make a human gesture likely to improve his image”, Mrs Sarkozy added.

Concerning the pledges that allowed the release of the six medics, the French first lady assured that the agreements had nothing to do with the military sphere. This presumption surfaced a few days after the medics’ release, when it was reported that Paris and Tripoli have signed disputed agreements in the field of defense and nuclear energy for civil purposes. “As far as my part is concerned, the allowances I offered were solely medical. I offered to the hospital of Benghazi doctors charged to train their Libyan colleagues, as well as equipment, treatments and fast visas so that emergencies can come for treatment to France”, Cecilia Sarkozy admitted. She further added that she intends to keep her commitments, as well as that she is follows closely “the condition of all the contaminated children” and that she does not exclude the possibility of going back to Libya in case that’s need.

Not “First Lady”, but “woman and mother”

For the ex model, what was important was not “playing the part of the “First Lady””. “ I went to Libya as a woman, as a mother, without concentrating on the complexity of international relations, but with the firm intention to save lives”, Cécilia Sarkozy said. “No one will ever prevent me from trying to help or relieve the sufferings if the people in need around the world, no matter which country it refers to”, she insisted.

Though the French First Lady decided to reveal more details in the columns of the L'Est Republicain “to shed light on the issue”, she continues refusing the possibility of appearing before a parliamentary inquiry committee to answer questions about the negotiations, as this was asked by the opposition. “This committee has not been established yet, but I believe my place is not there”, Sarkozy stated in cocnlusion.

19 août 2007

Parvanov:medics not released by Libya arms deal

Bulgarian president says securing medics' release was ‘long and painstaking process’.

SOFIA - Libya's decision to free six Bulgarian medics jailed for life over an HIV outbreak was not linked to nuclear and arms deals inked between Tripoli and Paris, Bulgarian President Georgy Parvanov was quoted as saying Monday.  

"It would be a mistake to believe remarks that this... resulted from a behind-the-scenes deal linked to the economy, military connections and the weapons industry. That is a distorted view," Parvanov told Bulgarian journalists in an interview reported by the 24 tchassa daily.

"Other countries in eastern as much as in western Europe have made deals with Tripoli, but these did not particularly contribute to our cause," the president said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy traveled to Tripoli and signed a memorandum of understanding to build a Libyan nuclear reactor, a day after the six Bulgarian medics were released.

A week later, France confirmed a multi-million dollar arms deal between Libya and European aerospace giant EADS, although Sarkozy denied that France had traded the medics' freedom for arms.

Parvanov insisted in his interview that what secured the medics' release "was not an isolated act but a long and painstaking process," that accelerated under Britain's presidency of the European Union in 2005.

"That is when the EU became a spokesperson for the Bulgarian cause," Parvanov said.

He praised former British prime minister Tony Blair, who traveled to Tripoli in May, the United States and the German presidency of the EU, as well as EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, for their role in securing the medics' release.

But he also pointed to Sarkozy's efforts in brokering the release.

"This result... was achieved thanks to the exceptional courage, the character, the true leadership of France's President Sarkozy, (and) to the willpower shown during those dramatic hours by his wife, Cecilia Sarkozy," the Bulgarian president said.

"If Mr. Sarkozy had not acted at that moment, we would have had to wait I don't know how long for a solution which had, to a certain degree, already been worked out," he added.

Sarkozy is to visit Sofia "between September 12 and 15," Parvanov also said.

Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian-born doctor were released and returned to Sofia on July 24 after spending over eight years in a Libyan prison for allegedly infecting over 400 Libyan children with the HIV virus.

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=21762

14 août 2007

Iliya Kafedzhiev: Rising in price of canned foods is expected in the fall

13 August 2007 | 21:23 | FOCUS News Agency

Why this rising is expected? What amount of canned foods Bulgarian canning factories is producing? Which are the most preferred products? When homemade preserved foods are dangerous? Answers of all these questions will give deputy director of Institute of the Canning Industry (MAFI) Iliya Kafedzhiev in interview to FOCUS News Agency

FOCUS: Is the level of canned foods demand keeps at Bulgarian market?
Iliya Kafedzhiev: It not only keeps but the demand is increasing and the process is cyclic. If the prices of raw materials at the market are very high as it is this year, there is high demanding of canned foods, because there is more profit to buy not to prepare at home.
FOCUS: Which are the most preferred canned foods?
Iliya Kafedzhiev: There is much in demand as pickled cucumbers, tomatoes, different kinds of salads, baked peppers. These products are demanded not only by the citizens but even restaurants and hotels.
FOCUS: What are the risks in homemade canned foods?
Iliya Kafedzhiev: The risks are connected with bad closing and insufficient heat treatment. These are the main risks. But there is a risk of botulism with meat preserved foods.
FOCUS: How many canned goods are producing in Bulgaria per year?
Iliya Kafedzhiev: According to last statistic there are about 120 000 tons of canned foods per year.
FOCUS: And what part of them is buying?
Iliya Kafedzhiev: Everything that is produced is buying but about 80% of them are exported and about 20% are for the home market.
FOCUS: Is there rising in price of canned foods expected in the fall?
Iliya Kafedzhiev: Yes, rising in price of canned foods is expected in the fall. More expensive are packing materials, jars, covers, electricity. The labor is expensive and the main stuffs as tomatoes, peppers too.

13 août 2007

Libya: Crime pays, says ESISC President Claude Moniquet

12 August 2007 | 16:35 | FOCUS News Agency

Claude Moniquet, President of the European Strategic Intelligence & Security Center (ESISC) has posted a comment on the Libya AIDS case. Here it is: Firstly, of course, we rejoice at the liberation of the Bulgarian nurses and the doctor of Palestinian origin who went through torment in Libya lasting eight years. Then we are pleased at this success of French diplomacy. In a situation where Bulgaria had played a negligible role for years (although its citizens were the ones being held) and where the European Union hardly was a shining example of effectiveness, President Nicolas Sarkozy solved the case in a matter of weeks. Hence the result. Unfortunately, though, without wanting to appear to be ill-humoured, we must express our regret at its showing that crime pays. The “Bulgarian nurses”affair is indeed about hostage taking. Five nurses and one doctor were imprisoned in Libya and sentenced to death for a ‘crime’ that everyone knows they never committed: the Libyan children who died or are ill with AIDS were just the victims of the lamentable state of the hospitals in Benghazi, in particular, and of Libyan medicine in general, as well as of an overall lack of hygiene. The fact that some confessions were obtained under torture does not change anything about the case. And one hopes that the real victims -the hostages who have just been freed -will turn against Tripoli: the commitment not to initiate proceedings against Libya that they made obviously has no value, since it was extorted under threat of death. Looking at the case of the nurses, we now know that in addition to being crooks, the Libyan rulers are also hostage takers and racketeers. All of this is not very encouraging for the engineers, technicians, businessmen and other European specialists who will go there now that Libya, as the price of its crime, has become our best friend!When Qadaffi wanted a rapprochement with the United States, he invented a programme of weapons of mass destruction and negotiated its ‘abandonment.’ When he wanted a rapprochement with Europe, he used a fantastic plot of the nurses and negotiated the release of his hostages. If tomorrow the Colonel decides he wants to receive the Nobel Prize for Peace, to appear on the Broadway stage in a comedy, or just to get our support for his bankrupt socialist regime, what will he invent next and whom will he take hostage?

12 août 2007

Parvanov: No Behind the Scenes Politics in Bulgaria's Medics Release

Bulgaria's president stood against speculations that the release of Libya-held medics was arranged behind the scenes, as claimed by a French insider.

"The Bulgarian medics held in Libya were freed not as a result of a behind-the-scenes deal, but of a long and tough process," Georgi Parvanov said at an informal meeting with Bulgarian journalists in Euxongrad near Varna.

The president singled out the assistance of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his spouse Cecilia, the British and German presidency of the European Union, the European Commission and Parliament, the public pressure and Qatar, but expectedly refused to elaborate on the mysterious role of the latter.

The president plans to pay an official visit to Qatar in the autumn and expects his French counterpart to visit Buglaria on September 15.

"I would not agree to forget about what Bulgaria did for the medics release," he said, adding that Bulgaria never let up its efforts and spearheaded the campaign from the beginning to the happy end.

The president fumed at criticism that he breached Bulgaria's Constitution and the agreement for legal aid with Libya by pardoning the nurses minutes after they touched Bulgarian soil.

"Neither the first nor the second is true," he said.

The five Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor were convicted of intentionally infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV before transferring them to Bulgaria on July 24 to serve their life sentence there.

Libya commuted death sentences against the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor to life in prison, following a financial settlement of USD 1 M each for each of more than 400 children infected with the virus that causes AIDS.

The medics have protested innocence throughout their eight-year imprisonment, a claim that was backed up by several reports of top AIDS researchers, which were not taken into account by the Libyan courts.

President Georgi Parvanov pardoned them shortly after they touched down on Bulgarian soil.
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=84088

Bulgarian society agree that Bulgarian officials did not contribute to medics’ case when the trial started - poll

11 August 2007 | 16:32 | FOCUS News Agency

Sofia. Bulgarian society almost fully agree that at the beginning of the Libya AIDS case (1999-2001) Bulgarian officials did not contribute to providing a just course of matters in the trial or they hardly did so, shows a survey of Scala polling agency sent to FOCUS News Agency. Only 1% admit that President Petar Stoyanov, PM Ivan Kostov and foreign minister Nadezhda Mihaylova at the time contributed to the case. The successful end of the case is mostly related to the involvement of the EU. Only 15% of those questioned think Bulgaria could have managed without the support of the EU, 89% approve of and accept such cooperation.

11 août 2007

Scala agency poll: 81% of Bulgarian citizens approve of pardoning of Bulgarian nurses and doctor Ashraf

11 August 2007 | 15:53 | FOCUS News Agency

Sofia. The decree of Bulgarian president Georgi Parvanov for the pardoning of the Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor who were sentenced to death in Tripoli for having deliberately infected over 400 Libyan children with HIV is approved by the majority of Bulgarians, shows data of a survey of Scala polling agency sent to FOCUS News Agency. 1,018 people had been questioned. 81% of them approve of the decision of the Head of State, 19% don’t. Misgivings that the immediate pardoning may deteriorate Bulgaria-Libya relations are the main argument of the ones who disapprove of the pardoning. 43% fear the relations between the two countries may get worse. President Parvanov is the Bulgarian who is considered to have mostly contributed to the medics’ release. He is backed by 31%. 20% say it is foreign minister Ivailo Kalfin, 13% give their vote for Solomon Passy – his forerunner. 49% say none of the Bulgarian politicians contributed greatly to the outcome of the case.