Parvanov: Nobody Wants Libya's Gaddafi Ousted More Than Bulgaria

Diplomacy | March 19, 2011, Saturday // 22:10|  views

Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov with his wife Zorka Parvanov. Photo by BGNES

Hardly anyone else is more interested than Bulgaria to see the end of the regime of Muammar Gaddafi, Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov declared as international air strikes started in Libya.

In a statement distributed by the press office of the Bulgarian Presidency Saturday night, Parvanov outlined in five points his position as a head of state on the situation in Libya, not forgetting to stress the ordeal that six Bulgarian medics suffered in the so called "Libya HIV Trial" as they were jailed in Libya in 1999-2007 for allegedly infecting deliberately 400 children with HIV.

The Bulgarian President pointed out that Resolution 1973 of the UN Security Council adopted on Thursday has united the international community with respect to the need to terminated immediately the violence and to overcome the humanitarian crisis in Libya, where dictator Muammar Gaddafi is fighting a popular uprising.

Parvanov further declared his hope that the international military intervention in Libya will indeed help achieve these goals and will prevent further casualties.

The President believes that Bulgaria should not take part in the international military operation in Libya but that it should lend an all-out support for tackling the humanitarian crisis. Virtually the same position was expressed on Friday by the Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov on behalf of the Borisov Cabinet.

"According to Georgi Parvanov, there is hardly anyone who is more interested than us Bulgarians in the removal of the Gaddafi regime since six innocent Bulgarian citizens suffered for years from the arbitrariness of the Libyan regime. Because of that, the Bulgarian President believes that the real international pressure is belated not by 2 or 3 weeks but by years," reads the Presidency statement.

The Bulgarian President also expresses hope that the international military action will result in helping solve the problems of the Libyan people rather than exacerbate them, and will stabilize the situation in the entire region.

The travesty trial against the Bulgarian medics sponsored by Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was triggered by their arrest back in 1999. They spent 8 painful yars in prison and were sentenced to death twice, and were tortured by prison guards and security officers. In July 2007, the involvement of the French Sarkozy presidential couple and the EU in the final stages of the talks, which has been deemed crucial by Bulgaria and the medics, led to their transfer to Bulgaria and release release.

Libya's former Justice Minister, who recently joined the anti-Gaddafi forces in the country, stated that not the Bulgarian medics, but the regime of leader Muammar Gaddafi was responsible for infecting more than 400 children with HIV. A Libyan official, who bought infected blood at a low price and pocketed the balance, is behind the HIV outbreak in Benghazi, according to fresh diplomatic cables, revealed by WikiLeaks. Two Hollywood producers, Richard Harding and Sam Feuer, have announced a project for a feature film based on the case with the Bulgarian medics.

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Tags: Georgi Parvanov, Bulgarian President, Muammar Gaddafi, Libya, air strike, air strikes, Bulgarian medics, Bulgarian nurses, HIV trial, Libya HIV trial, Sam Feuer, Richard Harding, France

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