The Bulgaria 2011 Review: Society

November 2011: 30 000 protested against the pension reform in Sofia with an effigy of Finance Minister Simeon Djankov. Photo by BGNES

2011 Protests in Bulgaria

The most overused word by Bulgarian journalists in 2011 was the word "protests". The years saw protests of trade unions, railway workers, students, scientists, grain producers, tobacco growers, environmentalists and even "Occupy" protesters.

The year began with protests against the alleged widespread practice of unauthorized wiretapping by the police and the alleged repressive measures imposed by an increasingly police state against its citizens. The rallies were organized by the Greens party and NGOs and were triggered by the leaked wiretap scandal which prominently featured Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

January 20 saw a feeble protest in front of the Parliament building in Sofia against unfair practices of mobile phone operators such as the automatic extension of subscription contracts, the steep contract termination fees, etc. The 70-strong crowd vowed to send petitions to the government, the European Commission and the European Parliament. Consumers' criticism and discontent were mostly expressed in online forums and through social networks. At the end of the year, the government eventually passed legal amendments which removed some of the contested small-print traps for mobile phone subscribers.

Railway workers first staged a one-hour warning strike on March 10, when 52 out of a total of 60 scheduled trains stopped between 10 am and 11 am. The protest was held against the terms of the World Bank loan for the stabilization of the National Railway Infrastructure Company and Holding Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ). The loan was contingent on a 30% cut in labor costs which would lead to job cuts and wage freezes.

In end-November, BDZ employees embarked on a strike which lasted 24 days, with no trains running between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Railway workers were dissatisfied with the planned reform at the state-owned company envisaging 2000 layoffs and the reduction of number of trains in operation by 150 (later scaled down to 138) by January 2012. A total of 1050 railway workers agreed to voluntarily quit their jobs and receive six gross monthly wages. The strike incurred losses of BGN 2.5 to the company. The collective bargaining agreements between the trade unions and the executives of the Passenger Services and the Freight Services units of the debt-ridden BDZ Holding were eventually signed in end-December.

High fuel prices in Bulgaria prompted waves of protests across the country, with the first major nationwide rally held on March 13.

The campaigns were launched on Facebook by the newly established SILA civil association and included various forms of protest like roadblocks, pedestrian rallies and vehicles lining up in queues at filling stations, with drivers repeatedly buying fuel for small change.

The turmoil caused by expensive fuel caused the Bulgarian center-right government to sign an agreement with Lukoil for a one-month moratorium on retail prices.

The fuel distributor, which controls 29% of the retail fuel market, froze gasoline prices at BGN 2.36 per liter and diesel at BGN 2.45 at filling stations of its chain. The moratorium, originally set to expire on April 23, was subsequently extended to May 09.

The agreement for the price freeze aroused suspicions of very close ties between Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the head of Lukoil Bulgaria Valentin Zlatev, whom the opposition has described as "the country's back seat ruler" and "the oil oligarch, who pulls the strings of the government".

Bulgaria's Commission on Protection of Competition (CPC) launched a reluctant cartel probe in the sector amid widespread allegations of artificially inflated prices. Even before announcing the unsurprising results, the anti-trust watchdog stated repeatedly that it failed to find any clear evidence of a unfair competition.

At the beginning of December, Bulgarian grain producers staged nationwide protests against subsidy cuts. Sofia's Alexander Nevski cathedral was surrounded by over 170 tractors for several days, but the demands of the agricultural workers remained unfulfilled.

The protesters demanding a restructuring of the 2012 financial framework for agriculture eventually suspended activities until January 31, 2012, giving the government more time to fulfill its subsidy commitments. The tractors and other agricultural machinery that were brought to Sofia on December 06 for a large-scale protest were withdrawn on December 7.

Grain producers noted, however, that they were still demanding the resignations of Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov and Finance Minister Simeon Djankov.

Each year, the farmers receive an EU subsidy per unit of land, with BGN 830 M slated for 2012. The 2012 state budget also provides for BGN 110 M for grain producers, BGN 71 M for livestock breeders and BGN 73 M for tobacco growers. Grain producers, however, have demanded another BGN 230 M from the state coffers.

Their discontent escalated after the draft 2012 budget passed its first reading in Parliament, envisaging BGN 230 M less than they had been promised. One month before the October 23 presidential and local elections, the government and the farmers' associations signed a financial framework stipulating BGN 570 M for the farming sector.

The GERB government faced protests over another unfulfilled election promise – that it would not up retirement age until 2021. In early December, some 30 000 Bulgarians organized by the country's two major trade unions, the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) and the Podkrepa Labor Confederation, gathered in Sofia to protest against the government's planned changes to the retirement system.

The unions were outraged by the controversial and sudden spike in retirement age and the elimination of years of service in determining wages of public officials proposed by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov. GERB eventually yielded to the calls of the trade unionists and settled for a more gradual increase over the next three years.

On December 08, Parliament passed at second reading legal amendments providing for a gradual increase of the retirement age by 4 months for 3 years starting January 2012, until the threshold settles at 63 years for women and 65 years for men.

2011 Ethnic/Religious Clashes – Katunitsa, Banya Bashi, Jehova's Witnesses

Katunitsa, Tsar Kiro, and the Bulgarian Roma

On September 23, a mini van driven allegedly transporting guests of Roma clan leader Kiril Rashkov, aka Tsar Kiro, ran over and killed 19-year-old Angel Petrov in the southern Bulgarian village of Katunitsa.

The accident caused locals to set ablaze properties of Tsar Kiro and stirred waves of anti-minority protests in major Bulgarian cities in the next few days.

Some participants in the rallies chanted anti-Roma and Nazi slogans. A total of 350 people were arrested during the protests for stirring ethnic hatred. The demonstrations turned into rallies against the "Roma issue" in general, i.e. the status of the Bulgarian Roma communities, which many ethnic Bulgarians see as "privileged" in fields such as taxation, law enforcement and social benefits for "minority integration policies".

The Interior Ministry warned that 7 major cities were potentially dangerous with respect to ethnic tensions. The cities in question were said to be Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Pazardzhik, Veliko Tarnovo, Blagoevgrad, and Kyustendil. Rashkov was promptly arrested for issuing murder threats to Veselin Hristev.

Bulgarian authorities froze his assets and property during an investigation on tax evasion charges. He is currently at the Plovdiv Prison dispensary. The September 23 murder and the ensuing clashes caused the UN human rights office and the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) to voice grave concern over the anti-Roma rallies in Bulgaria.

"The political leadership must take a strong stance against hate speech and ensure that police officers continue to be deployed in sufficient numbers to protect Roma neighborhoods from threats of retribution and harassment," said Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The UN human rights office expressed regret at the death of the young Bulgarian and demanded that the perpetrator be brought to justice. It also stressed that the "hate speech that has been fuelling the anti-Roma protests is of great concern." "It is unacceptable for an entire community to face collective punishment for an offence allegedly committed by an individual," Colville remarked, urging senior political authorities in Bulgaria to "publicly restate this principle of individual criminal responsibility."

Reminding that anti-Roma protests had taken place in Hungary and the Czech Republic, Colville cautioned that "in such an atmosphere, inter-ethnic tensions rise and Roma risk becoming scapegoats of broader dissatisfaction."

The Roma minority in Bulgaria, which accounts for about 9% of the population, lives mostly in areas with higher rates of poverty and unemployment and lower levels of education than the national average. According to experts' estimations, public discontent with corruption, a widening gap between the rich and the poor and an inefficient judiciary, has helped to turn ethnic Bulgarians against the Roma and Turkish minorities.

In a 03 October statement, the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) expressed concern over what it described as a "wave of anti-Gypsyism" in Bulgaria.

"The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights is gravely concerned at the recent country-wide eruption of racist hatred and threats directed against the Roma in Bulgaria. Many Roma have fears for their children's and their own safety".

The committee called on the Bulgarian authorities at all levels to do their utmost to protect this vulnerable minority from attack and urges them to strongly condemn and prosecute acts of anti-Gypsyism.

They must, in particular, react firmly to racist discourse by public officials and tackle hate speech vis-?-vis the Roma.

Corruption and crime must be fought regardless of the ethnic origin of the perpetrators," the PACE declaration stated.

On October 01, Amnesty International followed suit by urging Bulgarian authorities to stop the escalation of violence, expressed in racially-motivated attacks against the Roma community in the country.

"Bulgarian authorities have the obligation under international human rights law to ensure the security and the physical integrity of everyone, without any discrimination. They have to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, punish and provide redress for racially motivated crimes by private individuals or groups," a special declaration of the organization stated.

"Allegations that law enforcement officers made no attempt to prevent the violence on 24 September should also be subject to a full and effective investigation, with the results made public and anyone found responsible brought to justice," the human rights organization stated.

On September 27, the Association of European Journalists-Bulgaria, a non-government organization, expressed its deep concern regarding what they perceive as violence against journalists during the recent protest in the southern village of Katunitsa.

Reporters had been threatened and beaten during the events that took place, the NGO said in its statement. The journalistic association reminded that, according to the Bulgarian constitution, one had the right to refuse being photographed, but the rule did not apply to cases involving rallies, protests and other large-scale social events, hence the protestors' violent reactions were unjustified.

On October 01, Roma boys and girls handed out flowers and smiles to passerbies during the so-called "Roma pride'' in downtown Sofia. Roma children distributed their drawings and essays at key junctions in Sofia to mark the first of its kind for Bulgaria Roma Pride event.

"We are here to prove that stirring ethnic hatred makes no sense; let other people tell what should and should not be displayed in society,"Mariana Vankova from the Bulgarian National Network for Children said.

The event's organizers, including representatives of the Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance "Amalipe", a Roma NGO, pointed out the Roma pride parade had been scheduled long before the recent ethnic tensions erupted in Bulgaria. Ethnic Bulgarians also joined the initiative.

Sofia Mosque Clashes

On May 20, supporters of the Bulgarian far right, nationalist, Ataka (Attack) party started a brawl in downtown Sofia, assaulting Muslims during their Friday prayer. The nationalists staged a rally in front of the Sofia's Banya Bashi mosque, protesting the fact it has loudspeakers that sound Muslim prayers in the entire area around it.

The Banya Bashi mosque in downtown Sofia is a part of the city's unique "triangle of tolerance", encompassing also the St Nedelya Church, and the Sofia Synagogue are located within metres of each other in the very center of the city.

As one of the protesters tried to remove a prayer rug from the space in front of the mosque, tension escalated and a fight started between the two groups. Ataka supporters were reported shouting "Bulgaria" and "Turks, get out" and throwing eggs at the praying.

The incident has had wider repercussions, all the way from Bulgarians flocking to lay flowers at the mosque as a sign of apology, to the start of investigation of Ataka for stirring ethnic and religious hatred and the consolidation of the voters of the Bulgarian ethnic Turkish party DPS (Movement for Rights and Freedoms).

On May 27, Parliament adopted a declaration condemning the violence stirred by Ataka. All 127 MPs present at the parliamentary sitting (out of a total of 240) voted in favor of the declaration. Meanwhile, Ataka came out with another declaration, warning that paid thugs pretending to be Ataka activists might stage new provocations during Friday's Muslim prayer in Sofia.

Volen Siderov, the nationalist party's leader, stated he had never preached violence and those who had attacked the Muslims last Friday were, in fact, not Ataka members. The May 20 clashes drove a rift between GERB and Ataka, the nationalist party having been the only parliamentary ally of the ruling center-right formation, which formed a minority government in 2009.

Nationalists vs. Jehovah's Witnesses

Five followers of the Jehovah Witnesses sect were injured in an April 17 clash with activists of the nationalist VMRO party. The incident happened in the Black Sea city of Burgas, in front of the Jehovah Witnesses House of Prayer, where VMRO staged a protest rally.

10 people were arrested – all of them from VMRO, including the party's regional leader, Georgi Drakaliev, the Burgas police said.  The attackers were football hooligans, VMRO explained afterwards, stating that the party had intended to stage a peaceful protest.

However, it warned that similar accidents could recur if the Jehovah Witnesses was not banned. The Jehovah Witnesses explained that they had gathered to commemorate Jesus's death, because Jesus said in the Bible that it had to be marked in a specific way. They added that they did not celebrate his resurrection. The assault was condemned by the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC), who sent a letter to the Chief Prosecutor and the Interior Minister to demand a full and in-depth investigation.

The human rights NGO insisted that the authorities pay special attention to the issue of discrimination, adding that it was up to the Bulgarian justice system to "finally prove that it investigates and seriously penalizes crimes motivated by ethnic or religious hatred".

On September 14, the newly published July-December 2010 International Religious Freedom Report of the US State Department stated that freedom of religion was guaranteed in Bulgaria but the government was inconsistent in enforcing it.

The May 20, 2011, incident at the Sofia Mosque was not included in the report. "The constitution and other laws and policies protect religious freedom and, in practice, the government generally enforced these protections. However, the constitution designates Eastern Orthodox Christianity as the "traditional" religion, exempting it from having to register in court as required for all other religious groups," the report stated.

The US State Department dwelled on the alleged problems with the Jehovah's Witnesses in Bulgaria, saying that "some nontraditional groups continued to face discrimination and prejudice from local authorities in certain localities, despite obtaining national registration from the Sofia City Court... Both Jehovah's Witnesses and the Muslim community continued to report problems obtaining construction permits for new prayer houses and mosques."

It argued that Jehovah's Witnesses were complaining of persistent intolerance from the nationalist organization Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (VMRO) and in particular its branches in Varna, Vratsa, Rousse, and Dobrich, where VMRO supporters staged protests against Jehovah's Witnesses' memorial celebrations and other gatherings. Members of parliament from another nationalist party, Ataka, used defamatory language about Jehovah's Witnesses in media interviews and on their Web site.

"The [Bulgarian] government generally respected religious freedom in law and in practice; however, it did not enforce legal and policy protections of religious freedom consistently. There were allegations that authorities persecuted Muslims under the guise of preventing radical Islam," the US State Department stressed, referring to the long-time dispute over the Office of the Bulgarian Chief Mufti between Mustafa Hadji and Nedim Gendzhev.

The US State Department concluded that in the second half of 2010 relations in Bulgaria between religious groups generally remained civil and tolerant; however, discrimination, harassment, and public intolerance of some religious groups remained intermittent problems.

2011 Soviet Army Monument Makeover

The Sofia Soviet Army Monument made global headlines in June 2011. On June 18, several anonymous Bulgarian street artists painted over the Soviet soldier figures in downtown Sofia, ironically turning them overnight into The Joker, Wolverine, Santa, Superman, Ronald McDonald, Captain America, Robin, and Wonder Woman, among others.

The Soviet flag waved by the soldiers was painted to become a US flag, while a big inscription added by the artist below the soldier statues said, "Rolling with the time". The monument was cleared overnight by members the "Bulgaria-Russia" forum, hours before the time officially announced for the media.

The controversial work of art was initially attributed to a single artist, who was quickly called "The Bulgarian Banksy" by Western media. As it turned out, it was the work of a group that has chosen to name itself "Creative Destruction".

The 9-strong  group of street artists aged 17-21 explained their actions with what they perceived as the constant swinging of Bulgaria's political orientation.

"While the Soviet Union was in power, Bulgarians tried to be the best communists. Now, when we are living in democracy, we are trying to be Americans," a representative of the group explained. The artists further declared they were against the popular opinion that the Soviet Army monument should be demolished and that they did not mean to vandalize it.

However, they pointed out that it no longer represented the Soviet army as it once used to, adding that the area around it was now a gathering place for Sofia's subculture, including young artists.  The makeover helped the Soviet Army Monument make it onto travelandleisure.com's list of "World's Most Controversial Monuments".

''Soviet-era war memorials honoring Red Army soldiers are often vandalized. But this WWII monument in the capital, Sofia, got an especially colorful makeover in June 2011,'' the website described the controversial transformation of the monument. On October 04, Bulgaria's Supreme Administrative Court (VAS) ruled that the controversial Soviet Army Monument could not be dismantled.

The Court's ruling came in response to a plea filed by popular Bulgarian journalist Ivo Indzhev against Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova. Indzhev spearheaded a campaign to remove the largest monument in the very downtown of the Bulgarian capital, whose critics view it as a symbol of Bulgaria's occupation by the Soviet Union's Red Army in 1944.

VAS, however, upheld a decision of a lower-instance court that the memorial could not be removed from its current spot. The judges declared that the removal of the monument was impossible because it was a memorial object according to the Bulgarian Territorial Organization Act and could only be dismantled with the agreement of its authors which had no way of being obtained.

Bulgaria Online in 2011

The Elusive Cyrillic Domain Name

In November, ICANN CEO and President Rod Beckstrom advised Bulgaria to move on from its desire to register .бг as the national Cyrillic Internet domain name.

Beckstrom, who was on his first visit to Bulgaria as the President of ICANN in November, commented on the issue with .бг – the desired Cyrillic domain by Bulgaria, which was rejected because of its visual similarity with the already existing Latin alphabet domain name of Brazil, .br. "I would advise the Bulgarians to go for something else. The initial application for .бг was unsuccessful," said the ICANN chief.

He suggested that Bulgarians should apply for a three-character name, for .българия in Cyrillic, or whatever the local community approved. "There is going to be a round-table discussion in Sofia on January 4, 2012, where the community will get together, perhaps with the Deputy Minister, and they can explore all different options," Beckstrom said in an interview for Novinite.com, stressing that Bulgaria has several different options with respect to the .бг Cyrillic domain.

He assured that Bulgaria was not the only applicant to have its domain name extension turned down because of visual confusion. In March, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) made it clear one more time that Bulgaria had slim chances for registering a domain name in Cyrillic with a "бг" suffix.

This emerged during an online discussion, in which Bulgaria was represented by the Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technologies and Communication Parvan Rusinov.

ICANN refused to accept Bulgaria's proposal for a domain name in Cyrillic with a "бг" suffix in May last year, citing the similarity with Brazil's domain name with a "br" suffix as the reason for the rejection.

"As far as the fast track procedure is concerned ICANN has run out of options for registering domains in the national alphabets of Bulgaria and Greece," ICANN representatives said during the discussion.

The news that the proposal was turned down however did not come as a big surprise since the proposed domain name was harshly criticized in Bulgaria long before it was submitted for approval by ICANN with opponents, saying it resembles too much Brazil's domain name.

Bulgarians selected the now rejected "бг" suffix with a large majority during the first poll, which showed the second most preferred suffix to be "бгр".

A poll, proposing four new versions for a Bulgarian domain in Cyrillic, was published at the end of July on the official site of the Transport Ministry in a bid to pick the one with the largest public approval. The new versions that are subject to public discussion are "българия," "бгр," "бул" and/ or "бя." The procedure for registering internet addresses with alphabets different than Latin was officially launched on November 16, 2009.

Bulgarian Torrent Websites Vow to Fight for Existence

Bulgaria's two major torrent sites Zamunda and Arena will continue to exist, the administrator of Arena, Eliyan Geshev, announced. On January 22, Bulgaria's two prime torrent sites Zamunda and Arena were rendered inaccessible overnight by an entity dubbed Council for the Protection of Intellectual Property.

The Council for the Protection of Intellectual Property was created by the Council of Ministers of Bulgaria in 2006 to bring together the deputy-ministers of culture, justice, finance, interior, energy, as well as representatives of the judiciary and other state agencies.

The director Computer Crimes Unit of the Directorate General for Fight with Organized Crime at the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior stated that there was no operation underway against the torrent sites. The Computer Crimes Unit has reportedly brought about several closedowns of Zamunda and Arena.

In Geshev's words, all interventions against the two major torrent-trackers in Bulgaria were due to pressure by the United States. "If this was just a hacker attack, the site would have gone missing on the Internet. But an attack from 50 different IPs seems like a limited budget of some organization. The suggestions point at GDBOP," Geshev said.

Geshev insisted that Bulgarian users of torrent websites were not violating the law in any way. "What is forbidden in the United States with a law is a right in Bulgarian and Europe. The state incriminates to people that if they have 1000 copies of a movie that you have not paid for, then you are a criminal, but this is not true," Geshev said.

He expressed hope for the future existence of Arenabg.com and said he would fight for it until the end. "Unless a court rules that the website is illegal, [Arena] will continue to exist. If it is terminated from the Netherlands, we will launch some of the spare web hosts that are ready and working," he said.

Bulgaria Ranked 3rd in Global Internet Download Speed

In September, Bulgaria was placed third among the world's top Internet download speeds with its 1,611 KBps average, according to a study released by Pando Networks. The list was topped by South Korea (2,202 KBps), followed by Bulgaria's neighbor, Romania (1, 909 Kbps).

The average download speed in the United States was a mere 606 KBps, while the worldwide average was 580 KBps, the study revealed. Pando Networks based its findings on 27 million downloads from 20 million computers in 224 countries over the first six months of this year.

The company measured actual download speeds, and not the network capacity cited by Internet service providers or the price paid for the services.

2011 Bulgarian Orthodox Church Scandals

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church was rattled by two major scandals in 2011- the legality of the check by the so-called Files Commission of the Holy Synod's ties to the communist-era State Security (DS) and the issue of the luxury limousine driven by the Bishop of Varna and Veliki Preslav, Kiril.

On December 20, Metodi Andreev, former head of the Files Commission, a special panel investigating the Communist regime secret files, said that over half of the Holy Synod's clergy had been DS agents.

He specified that the Holy Synod had proved to be the unit with the highest share of members with ties to the communist regime's secret services, with the total percentage expected to exceed 50%, despite the fact that the files of some representatives of the senior clergy had been destroyed.

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church faces a fine of BGN 15 000 – 30 000 if the Holy Synod resists the check and refuses to supply the data required by the Files Commission.

The Holy Synod initially decided to assist the mandatory check, only to declare later on that such an investigation was unconstitutional because it violated the principle of separation of Church and State.

Meanwhile, in early December Varna Bishop Kiril made headlines after turning up for service in a luxury Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, 2012 make, on St. Nicholas' Day, December 6. He went on to brag that he owned a car model from next year, which had still not been released for regular sale, adding that "Only US President Barack Obama drives such a car." This stirred an immediate outcry among Bulgarian laity.

Contrary to reports issued one day after the event, metropolitan Bishop Kiril did not resign from office. It later transpired that the Lincoln was property of the Armira 2010 company, the owners of which were close to Kiril and participated in the bishopric's board of trustees.

Bozhidar Dimitrov, former Minister without Portfolio for Bulgarians Abroad, tried to downplay the scandal with the Lincoln-driving Bishop, advising against state or any other type of intervention in church affairs.

"I believe this was an attempt to discredit him in order to sabotage his future bid for Bulgarian Patriarch," Dimitrov said in a December 09 interview for the morning broadcast of private TV station bTV.

"The issue involves not only Kiril, but also grain producers with Bentleys and the Mercedes' and BMWs driven by MPs, government officials and the President," the History Professor argued.

"I feel indignant at the indignation. Some of the other bishops have cars that are five or six times more expensive than this one. They are driving these vehicles which are not theirs but have been given to them through the same mechanism. There simply exists such a practice," Dimitrov added.

Inspired by the events, on December 18 Bulgarian nationalists held a mock charity event to raise money for a new car for Kiril. Activists from nationalist Bulgarian website Buditeli.net placed a donation box in front of Varna's Dormition of Mary Cathedral, saying that Kiril needed a new vehicle because the limousine belonged to his businessmen friends.

Smoking Ban Issue in 2011

Bulgaria's cabinet issued an official proposal to introduce a full smoking ban for closed public areas on June 1, 2012. The decision was made during a December 14 regular meeting of the Council of Ministers held in Bulgaria's second largest city, Plovdiv.

After the meeting, Prime Minister Borisov confirmed the plans for the introduction of the full smoking ban in mid-2012. "This is a global trend to limit the harmful habit; the ban will be a gift to Bulgarian children since on June 1 they celebrate their day," Borisov said.

He stressed that the date had been chosen as to give enough time to owners of bars, restaurants and coffee shops to make the necessary adjustments.

At the beginning of January 2011, Bulgoria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov endorsed the idea of a full smoking ban in bars and caf?s until 11:30 p.m. The measure was to be enforced in 2010, but was postponed by the government on the grounds that it might harm the country's tourism.

Under the current restrictions which entered into effect on December 19, 2010, indoor smoking in restaurants, clubs, bars, hotels, railroad stations, airports, malls, offices and schools is allowed only in separate spaces with closing doors. The restaurant business has called for a postponement of the full smoking ban for 2013 or 2014.

Bulgaria Switches to Fire Safe Cigarettes

Starting November 17, all cigarettes sold in Bulgaria and in the entire EU must be self-extinguishing. The European Commission announced on November 14 that the three-year deadline given to the tobacco industry to comply with the new safety standards expired on November 17.

"Evidence shows that the number of fatalities can be reduced by more than 40 percent with the introduction of 'Reduced Ignition Propensity' (RIP) cigarettes," the EC said in a statement.

In end-October, Bulgaria's Commission for Consumer Protection (KZP) announced that it had carried out the necessary checks at warehouses and commercial sites to guarantee that old-style cigarettes were out of production.

KZP Chair Veselin Zlatev explained that the new paper would not affect the cost or the taste of cigarettes.

Media Market Reshuffle in 2011

On August 03, 34.5% of Standard News, publisher of Standard daily, was sold to GM Press. GM Press is owned by Georgi Georgiev, President of the CSKA volleyball club, said Slavka Bozukova, chief editor of the newspaper, adding that the remaining shares remained with the T.B Consult company, which was fully owned by Todor Batkov.

As a result of the transaction, a new board of directors was formed, with Todor Batkov remaining the Chairperson. Two the popular Bulgarian daily newspapers – mainstream paper "Dnevnik" and the economic newspaper "Pari" are to be merged into a new newspaper, Dnevnik's publisher Economedia announced on October 28.

The announcement came a month after Economedia made a deal for the transfer of the Pari daily into its portfolio from its owner, the Swedish company Bonnier. The print edition of Dnevnik and Pari was merged into the new paper, "Capital Daily", named after Economedia's weekly "Capital".

The first issue of Capital Daily came out on Monday, October 31, 2011, the day after the runoff of Bulgaria's presidential and local elections. In early July, two daily tabloids were launched on the Bulgarian market.

Bulgaria DNES ("Bulgaria TODAY) is published by Media Group Bulgaria, publisher of the most popular Bulgarian dailies Trud and 24 Hours. The name of Nedyalko Nedyalov, publisher of Retro, is also involved in the project.

The editor-in-chief of Bulgaria DNES is Nikolay Penchev, who was previously in charge of the 168 Hours weekly. According to the owners, the target audience of the newspaper is Bulgarian families.

Vseki Den ("Every Day"), named after the news website, is owned by New Media Group, informally connected to New Bulgarian Media Group owned by Irena Krasteva and her son, Delyan Peevski, an MP from the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS).

The group publishes the most widely-circulated weekly tabloid, Weekend. The editorial board of Vseki Den consists of journalists and managers at Weekend and vsekiden.com. The target audience of the tabloid has not been specified. Both newspapers have 32 pages and cost BGN 0.40. Their total daily circulation is around 100 000.

Animal Cruelty Criminalized in Bulgaria

Animal cruelty is now considered a crime in Bulgaria to be punished by jail time or probation. Under amendments to the Penal Code which took effect on July 27, any Bulgarian citizen who organizes or participates in animal fighting will face up to 5 years behind bars and a fine ranging between BGN 5 000 and BGN 10 000.

The draft bill was passed in April, but the Parliament postponed by three months the approval of the provisions on animal cruelty. The amendments were triggered by several widely publicized cases of animal cruelty across the country.

The Animal Protection Act was adopted in the beginning of 2008, but it did not include sanctions for animal cruelty. The amendments were finally introduced in 2010 by the cabinet after a dog was found in the central town of Dryanovo with her legs cut, which stirred mass public outcry.

Individuals who premeditatedly kill an animal will face up to 1 years in jail and fines between BGN 1 000 and 3 000; those hurting an animal will face probation and the same fines. For repeated cruelty and extreme cruelty the penalty is up to 3 years behind bars and fines between BGN 2 000 and BGN 5 000. Vets and employees in animal shelters also face similar sanctions if they are cruel to animals.

Bulgarian Parliament Kills Euthanasia Bill

In the beginning of July, the Parliamentary Health Committee almost unanimously rejected a draft bill aimed at legalizing euthanasia in Bulgaria tabled by socialist MP and law professor Lyuben Kornezov.

The committee voted with 12 members against and 1 abstention, with Kornezov's fellow MPs from the Bulgarian Socialist Party also being widely against. Vanyo Sharkov and Hasan Ademov from arch-rivals rightist Blue Coalition and ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms united in an all-out rejection of euthanasia as going against the principles of beneficence in medicine.

Ruling center-right GERB party Djema Grozdanova said that euthanasia could be introduced only after an extensive and deep debate within the whole society, something which has not happened in Bulgaria.

Socialist Yanaki Stoilov argued that euthanasia could be introduced only in a country where the health system is at a sufficiently high level, which he saw as plainly not being the case in Bulgaria. Kornezov defended his legislative proposal, arguing for the right to die with dignity, and defending it as a case of well-doing in extreme cases. Health Committee MPs nevertheless were firmly against the bill and went on to reject it.

Bulgarian Writer Arrested in Belarus

On June 29, Bulgarian poet, translator and freelance journalist Dimitar Kenarov and his American colleague Jason Motlagh were arrested in the Belorussian city of Mozyr, where they had been planning to interview a plant director.

According to the Bulgarian Embassy in Belarus, Kenarov was found without identification documents which he said he had lost. After the timely intervention of the Embassy of the United States, Jason was released and taken out of the country.

While waiting for the response of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry, dozens of Kenarov's friends and relatives gathered in front of the institution's headquarters to protest what they saw as slow work on his return.

The statement of the Foreign Ministry, published only minutes before the protest, stated that it had acted "immediately" after being notified of the case, and had produced a temporary passport within 48 hours of the arrest, but Belarusian "police authorities refused to allow that the document be delivered on time."

Relatives and friends of Kenarov pointed out a number of discrepancies in the information given to them by the Foreign Ministry, including when precisely he had been visited by a Bulgarian diplomatic representative in Belarus.

Despite what was perceived as a slow reaction on behalf of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry, Kenarov returned safely home in the wee hours of July 05.

Gay Pride Parade 2011

The 4th annual edition of the Sofia Pride LGBT parade, which took place on June 18, was not marred by any incidents, assaults, or provocations. Due to the provocations of far-right extremists which marked the 2008 and 2010 editions of the rallies, the 2011 parade was characterized by massive police presence.

The procession started at the National Palace of Culture and reached the Soviet Army monument without any incidents whatsoever. The nationalist and far-right formations had given up plans to hold a simultaneous counter-rally after a ban by the Sofia Municipality.

The only protesters against the Sofia pride LGBT parade was an NGO called "Forum for Defending Children and Family", whose protest was seen by Bulgarian media as "cultured" as all they did was hand out brochures entitled "The Myths about Homosexuality."

"The right to peaceful assembly is a fundamental human right," Amnesty International representatives told the participants in the Sofia gay parade in a congratulatory address. Some of the young participants in the gay parade told reporters their parents were still unaware of their actual sexual orientation.

The only prominent Bulgarian politician who was seen taking part in the parade was socialist MP Georgi Kadiev. Kadiev, a Sofia municipal councilor, said he attended the gay parade in order to promote some normalcy amidst all the aggression in Bulgaria.

He made it clear he opposed gay marriage and adoptions by gay couples but declared his readiness to defend the right of expression of any sexual orientation. Eight foreign embassies, including the embassies of the USA, Netherlands, Belgium, UK, Germany, Slovenia, Finland and Norway, came up with statements in support of the Sofia Pride event. The Sofia Municipality abstained from officially endorsing the event.

"Sofia Pride", Bulgaria's first ever gay parade, took place for the first time in 2008 and was marred by hooligans, with more than 60 people ending up arrested by the police for trying to attack and harass the participants, some of them throwing Molotov cocktails.

The 2009 gay parade, which passed very quickly and was held under enhanced security measures, gathered around 300 people. Bulgaria's 3rd annual gay parade went without violent incidents largely thanks to the decisive actions of the 300 riot police officers guarding the rally.

Bulgaria in 2011's Eurovision Contests

Polly Genova Fails to Make It to Eurovision Contest Final

Bulgaria's contestant Polly Genova and her band failed to qualify for the final of the Eurovision song contest after the second semi-final in Dusseldorf on May 12. Genova and her Bulgarian-language song "Na Inat" ("In Defiance") won the internal Bulgarian competition for Eurovision in February 2011.

Surveys had shown that the Bulgarian contestant had very slim chances of success, not least because often the competition is decided by political back-scratching.

Bulgaria has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest six times since its debut in 2005, but it was only the duo Elitza and Stundzhi that brought success to the country and reached the finals in 2007. Some four months later, Georgian all-girl band Candy won the Junior Eurovision song contest 2011 held in Armenia's capital Yerevan on December 03. Bulgaria's 11-year-old contestant Ivan Ivanov, who has been compared with Jon Bon Jovi by Bulgarian media, collected a mere 60 points and finished 8th. A total of thirteen countries took part in the competition with contestants aged between 10 and 15.

Bulgaria in Rankings and Statistics

Bulgarians Most Dissatisfied in Europe

On December 02, a study conducted by the Agency for Social Analyses (ASA) showed that Bulgaria was the only country in Europe where the share of dissatisfied citizens was bigger than that of the satisfied ones.

All other European countries registered the opposite trend, ASA revealed, commenting on Bulgarians' way of life in times of crisis. ASA is an independent, non-profit making public policy oriented think-tank specialized in training and all kind of social research.

The organization indicated that 96.1% of Bulgarians believed that the State had to do much more to prevent the impoverishment of the nation, while 2/3 deemed their wages unfair, which was a score similar to that of Slovenia and Portugal.

Job security had turned a priority during the crisis, ASA showed, with nearly 98% of respondents voicing their preference for a secure position over higher payment. 1/3 of the respondents said that, given the backdrop of limited job offers, one should be privileged in getting one.

The study also found that the majority of Bulgarian women preferred to retire at the age of 57, men – at the age of 59, the latter compared with 65 for Norwegian males; 61 - for the Portuguese, and 60 – for the French. 15.7% of Bulgarians had fallen prey to an attack or robbery in the last 5 years, but the rate was lower than that in Switzerland (16.5%), Norway (18.7%), and Belgium (21.7%).

However, nearly 33% of Bulgarians were shown to be fearing an attack, compared to 12% for the Swiss; 24% for the Belgians and only 7% for the Norwegians, which was attributed to the lack of trust in Bulgaria's police and judiciary.

75% of Bulgarians said the police were working under political pressure and every fourth person claimed that they took bribes. 56% said they did not trust the judicial system, while 85% stated that the courts were protecting the rich and the powerful, not common folk.

74% were convinced that the judiciary was subject to political pressure, while 36% insisted that that the magistrates were corrupt. 88% of all Bulgarian respondents called for harsher sentences in criminal cases.

Bulgaria Slumps Even Further in TI Corruption Index Ranking

Bulgaria is the most corrupt among the EU Member States, according to Transparency International's newly published Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

The Balkan country has registered a score of 3.3, which has placed it 86th out of 178 countries together with Jamaica, Panama, Sri Lanka and Serbia. Bulgaria's corruption index has been worsening ever since 2009 when it had 3.8 points out of 10 (10 indicating "very clean" and 0 indicating "highly corrupt"). Bulgaria is now last among a total of 30 countries in the EU and Western Europe region, scoring a little worse than neighboring Greece (3.4).

UN Ranks Bulgaria among 'High Human Development' Countries

Bulgaria has been ranked 55th in UN's Human Development Index, the organization's latest report shows. Thus, the Balkan country is among the countries perceived to have a high human development, the second highest developed group according to the index. Bulgaria is one place below Montenegro and one ahead of Saudi Arabia. However, in the inequality-adjusted index, Bulgaria ranks 52nd.

Bulgaria Sees World's Largest Population Decline

Bulgaria has the most negative natural growth rate of all countries in the world, according to a report prepared by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The Balkan country's expected natural growth rate for the period 2010-2015 is -0.7%, which places it last of all states in the world together with the Republic of Moldova, the report, entitled "State of the World Population 2011", has shown.

Bulgaria's population has declined from a peak of 9,009,018 in 1989 to no more than 7.3 million, according to the country's 2011 census. The decline is seen as a result of very low fertility and substantial emigration. Recently, the UN projected a Bulgarian population of a mere 5.4 million in 2050.

Crisis-Devastated Bulgarians Remain Euro Optimists

Bulgaria is the nation most seriously hit by the economic crisis, and at the same time the most euro-optimist one, among the 12 EU countries studied in a recent Marshall Fund report.

The 2011 Transatlantic Trends study features EU members Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, the UK, as well as the USA and Turkey. For the last two years, approval of the European Union on the part of Bulgarians has remained stable around 90%, soaring well above the average for other EU countries.

About the same percentage of Bulgarians (90%) however have reported they feel significantly hit by the global economic crisis, with Romania coming out second at 86%, and Portugal third at 80%. 75% of Bulgarians are dissatisfied with the way their government is handling the economic situation, which places the country third after Romania and Spain (78% each).

At the same time, an interesting result of the study is that the more citizens in many EU countries, including Bulgaria, favor less government spending, rather than more, in order to overcome the crisis. 17% of Bulgarians want more public spending, while 38% favor less.

Bulgarians Are Purely Indo-European, Not Turkic - Gene Study

A peculiar Slavic-Mediterranean gene admixture is in the core of the Bulgarian nation, a new Bulgarian-Italian genetic study has revealed.

Gene probes of 855 Bulgarians, including individuals from the country's Islam population, have been gathered and compared with other European nations, Professor Draga Toncheva from the Sofia-based Medical University explained.

The results have failed to show any Turkic connection in the Bulgarians nation's genesis, contrary to popular beliefs. Croatians, Poles, Ukrainians and other Slavic nations are closest to Bulgarians, according to the study. However, Bulgarians are a peculiar type of Slavs, since they also have Mediterranean genes, according to Angel Galabov, head of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences' Microbiology Institute.

The Bulgarians' "peculiarity" has probably been the result of their contacts with ancient Thracians, scientists reckon. The place of origin of the Ancient Bulgarians is most likely Eastern Iran, a group of anthropologists and scientists claimed in 2010 after an exploratory trip to the Persian lands.

Bulgaria Ranks 5th in World by Ageing Population

Bulgaria is fifth in the world by the speed of its population ageing with drastic changes in the demographic structures expected by 2050. The conclusion is the result of a number of local and international studies, according to Emiliya Voynova, an expert with the "Standards of Living and Social Security" Directorate, cited by the Bulgarian news agency BTA.

The forecast is that by 2050, those aged 60 and over will be over 30% of the entire population of the country, a share threatening all social systems with degradation, according to demographic experts. Voynova further points out that the demographic situation in Bulgaria is the most critical of all European Union Member States. Negative trends include low birth rate, high death rate, low average life expectancy, large migration exodus.

Bulgaria Loses 80 000 Non-return Migrants Every Year

80 000 Bulgarians leave the country every year, with a large part of them being high school graduates seeking opportunities to study, work and live abroad. According to statistics, the most popular overseas education destination is the UK, given that the number of Bulgarians studying there has tripled over the past three years. A total of 12 500 Bulgarians currently study in Germany. Many young Bulgarians go for the Netherlands, where the cost of education is comparatively low and student loan programs are also available. Bulgaria has sent a total of 3664 students to the US and Canada over the past year. As a rule, 82% of the US and Canadian graduates never return to Bulgaria.

Bulgaria Ranks Third on 2011 EU Failed States Index

Bulgaria is EU's third most unstable country, according to the Failed States Index 2011 of the US magazine Foreign Policy.

In 2011, Bulgaria ranks 130th out of a total of 177 countries, inching between Bahrain and Panama. Of all EU member states, only Cyprus and Romania occupy higher spots, meaning that they perform worse. Bulgaria's performance has improved since 2010 on most of the indicators, except for "poverty, sharp or severe economic decline" and "rise of factionalized elites". The country's lowest score is on "legitimacy of the state" but it boasts the lowest risk of "massive movement of refugees and internally displaced persons".

According to Foreign Policy, Bulgaria is currently a "borderline" case, meaning that it holds a middle ground between "stable" and "in danger", which is the situation in Russia, Romania, Brazil, Libya, Saudi Arabia, India and Mexico.

Bulgarians 'Relaxed' over Personal Data Safety

Bulgarians are among the EU citizens who care less about the safety of their personal data, according to a Eurobarometer on data protection and electronic identity in the bloc.

Checking that the transaction is protected or the site has a safety logo/label is cited by more than half of respondents in the Netherlands (57%), France (56%), and Luxembourg (54%) compared to fewer than one in five in Romania and Bulgaria (both 13%), and Lithuania (17%). Bulgaria ranks last in the bloc's use of anti-spy software - a mere 5% of its Internet users do that.

60% of the individuals interviewed shared they did online shopping, in countries like Denmark and Holland the people who answered yes were 80%, while in Bulgaria a mere 21% said they did that.

Bulgaria, Romania 'Worst for Families' in Europe

Families in Bulgaria and Romania are the most pressured of all 27 European Union member states, making the two countries the worst places in Europe to raise children, a new survey has shown.

Financial and work pressures, combined with poor maternity and paternity provision, as well as poor living environments put Bulgarian families among the most pressured in Europe, according to a study released by the British Relationships Foundation.

Bulgaria has the most families facing difficulties in making ends meet, as high as 63.4% of total population, the report, Family Pressure Gauge, reveals. In Bulgaria 3.85% of births were to women aged 15-19, the highest percentage in Europe. Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Austria and Slovenia are the only other countries where more than 5% of households with dependent children have a highly critical debt burden.

Bulgarian families pay the most for energy – 7.05 PPS per unit of the combined fuels. They are followed by families in Sweden (6.42 PPS per unit) and Hungary (6.09 PPS per unit).

Looking at the percentage of employed individuals who think it is very likely or quite likely that they will lose their job in the next 6 months, the report found that Bulgarians are by far the most insecure about their jobs. More than one in five (22.2%) Bulgarian workers thought it is "very likely" or "quite likely" that they would lose their job in the next six months.

Bulgarians also experience great inflexibility as to the possibility to adapt working hours within certain limits - nearly all employees (96.4%) are not allowed to adapt working hours within certain limits, the report says.

Bulgaria Last in EU Institutional Trust

Bulgaria's citizens are least satisfied in the EU with the performance of the main government institutions, according to an international survey conducted by the Center for the Study of Democracy.

Modern Bulgarian society is a low-trust society both in terms of interpersonal trust and confidence in the institutions, the report says. In the EU, Bulgarian citizens report the lowest levels of trust in the representatives of the political class and the institutions.

In this respect, politicians rank 'first', followed by political parties, parliament, the judicial system, and the police. These low levels of trust have been a lasting attitude on the part of growing number of Bulgarians since 2003.

Bulgaria 26th Out of 31 in Migrant Integration

Bulgaria is ranked 26 out of 31 states, which include the EU and North America, in the Migrant Integration Policy Index, produced by the British Council and the Migration Policy Group.

Since acceding to the EU in 2007, Bulgaria has remained largely a country of emigration, though immigration increased with EU membership and economic trends. Recently, Bulgaria saw more international students, slightly more asylum seekers, but few non-EU migrant workers, despite government initiatives.

Newcomers to Bulgaria will find that policies are just half-way favorable for their integration. Bulgaria's policies that best promote integration are in areas of European law. All residents can use some of the strongest anti-discrimination law in both Central Europe (along with Romania) and Europe in general.

Protections against ethnic, racial, religious and nationality discrimination apply in all areas of life with independent support and good possibilities to enforce rights. Bulgaria has implemented laws on family reunion and long-term residence, which score just below the European average, the overview for the country says.

Favorable conditions in law can nevertheless be undermined by authorities' wide discretion in procedures, a problem across Central and Eastern Europe.

Beyond the negative effects of this insecurity on integration, newcomers critically lack many basic citizenship, education and political opportunities that are becoming best practice across Europe.

Restrictive access to education and limited measures to target needs make Bulgaria the second lowest scoring country on education (after Hungary). Labor market mobility is another area of weakness. Bulgaria has lowest score on general support (with Ireland)

Number of Bulgarians Slumps by Half Million since 2001

Bulgaria's population has decreased by over half million people (581 750) since the 2001 Census, according to data from the National Statistics Institute, NSI, from the first official express results from the 2011 Census in Bulgaria. The Census was conducted between February 1 and 28 with an online Census until midnight on February 9.

Bulgarians in the country are now 7 351 234. Of them nearly 73% (5 357 633) live in cities and towns and 27% (1 993 602) live in villages. From 1992 until 2011, the population went down by 773 784 over the negative natural growth while 410 472 emigrated.  By February 1, 2011, women in Bulgaria were 3 770 897 or 51%, while men were 3 580 337 or 49% meaning there are 1 053 women for 1 000 men compared to 1 052 to 1 000 in 2001.

Bulgarian Mothers are Youngest in EU - Study

Most Bulgarian women are, on average, just over 26.5 years of age when they give birth for the first time, which makes them the youngest mums in the European Union, according to the latest Eurostat Demography Report. The European average age for women giving birth is 29.7. Bulgaria has registered the largest increase of its fertility rate in the EU for the 2003 – 2008 period - from 1.23 children per woman in 2003 to 1.57 in 2009, according to the report.

WB: Bulgarians Spare on Food, Health to Survive Financial Crisis

Bulgaria is among the countries most deeply affected by the global financial crisis, according to a World Bank report on the jobs crisis in Eastern Europe and Central Asia in 2009. In Bulgaria, of the 28 percent of households that reported a direct crisis impact, almost 22 percent reported that labor market conditions had deteriorated compared with the previous year. Although 35 percent of Bulgarians suffered a labor market shock during the crisis, others found work or increased their hours. These jobs were taken by households that experienced a shock, and because these jobs are likely lower quality, it is not surprising that households also reported income declines, the report says.

In Bulgaria, only 23 percent of all households—and only 7 percent of households in the poorest quintile—reported having savings to rely on during the crisis. 18 percent of poor Bulgarian households reported skipping meals.

As many as 36 percent of Bulgaria's crisis-affected households in quintile 1 (poorest 20 percent) stopped buying regular medications, while 7 percent of households in the richest quintile resorted to this coping strategy. Similarly, 22 percent of poor crisis-affected households and 5 percent of rich crisis-affected households did not visit the doctor after falling ill.

Bulgaria Last in EU Recycling, Composting

Bulgaria is the only EU member state which neither recycles nor composts any of its municipal waste, according to Eurostat data for 2009 published Tuesday. In 2009, Bulgaria was the only state which landfilled 100% of its municipal waste, followed by Romania (99%), Malta (96%), Lithuania (95%), and Latvia (92%).

Bulgarian Village Doomed to Extinction

Bulgarian villages will be fully extinct by 2060, if the current trend of high mortality rate in the countryside remains, according to a study of the Institute for the Study of Population at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS). There are currently about 200 villages in the country without any population while nearly 500 have a population of 10 to 20 people only.

In the last 60 years, village population in Bulgaria has been reduced by over 3 million people. About 2 million Bulgarians live in villages now. The main reason for the exodus is poor infrastructure, lack of work, schools, health care and stores, turning large parts of the country into a "museum."

Freedom House: Bulgaria Is Free Country

Bulgaria, along with the other EU Member States has been designated as "free" on the so-called "Freedom Map," included in the annual assessment of the Washington DC-based research institute Freedom House.

In addition to the EU countries, in Europe Serbia and Monte Negro are also marked as free. A total of 25 countries showed significant declines in 2010, more than double the 11 countries exhibiting noteworthy gains.

The number of countries designated as Free fell from 89 to 87, and the number of electoral democracies dropped to 115, far below the 2005 figure of 123. In addition, authoritarian regimes like those in China, Egypt, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela continued to step up repressive measures with little significant resistance from the democratic world.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!