the print

Today’s heirs of the former communist party, who draw red lines, should not first of all give up the past of their ancestors, who are the main culprits of what is happening today between Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia, asks the President of Bulgaria (1997 – 2002)

“The shadow of State Security was everywhere.” This was stated by the President of Bulgaria (1997-2002) Petar Stoyanov and told specific stories from his biography in which he was stopped in various directions because of his father’s file.

“Until I graduated from high school, my family didn’t talk about my father’s background. Of course they protected me. almost immediately after 9th September he was tried. The main charge was nationalism. He went to the central prison in Sofia. Ironically, years later, my grandmother told me how lucky he was to go to prison, because after 9th September many people were killed without a trial. And there is still a known rule in prison. After his release from prison, he was sent to a concentration camp. By the way, Dimitar Talev and Professor Mikhail Arnaudov were also there. Also Dimitar Talev was tried for nationalism.In the questionnaire he filled out, he was obliged to write a foreign language – “Macedonian”.I wonder a lot about today’s heirs of the former Communist Party ta, who draw red lines, if they should not first denounce or renounce the past of their ancestors who are the main culprits of what is happening today between Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia.

But – the shadow of State Security was everywhere.

I had just graduated from law school. I entered a contest. I had very fresh knowledge, I performed very well. The commission of three professors left me after the exam to tell me: “You are one of the people who is clearly winning the competition”. It was about specialization in Western Europe. “We don’t have qualified specialists in insurance law, so we want to send young and good specialists to learn this subject. I waited, waited, waited, I asked once or twice. They answered me quite evasively. My mother, who is quite ambitious , I was able to find contacts to understand that it would not happen. Go, but what is this uncle stefan’s file? What did he do?” She asked me about my father. By dossier I mean those Communist State Security files where everything is well explained, who you are, where you come from and so on.

Months before November 1989, Plovdiv television was broadcasting an interesting program “Address 4000” and I was invited to occasionally give short interviews related to marriages, divorces and so on. One of the presenters at one time became party secretary. And they almost didn’t invite me as a co-host. Empty vanity – I agreed. And suddenly – silence. Before that we communicated twice a week. I understood what it was. Much later, the husband of one of the presenters almost at midnight in a Plovdiv pub in a state of frankness said: “You know, brother, everyone wanted you to stay, to be part of this show, but they came from the Security of State and they said, ‘No, it can’t.’ They defended you, they said the show was taped, it could always be stopped, that it was about marriage and divorce. ‘No, no – not a word. With this past, he can’t go on.

I say all this with a clear awareness that I have not been repressed. I was even less of a hero under communism. I would compare our life with the life of those herds that today’s breeders surround them with the so-called electronic shepherd. If you move into the designated territory, your pasture, you survive, you are alive. However, if you touch the electronic shepherd, if you try to get out of this territory, it takes you back, because the current flows through it,” Petar Stoyanov said in an interview with “Nova News”.

According to him, in January 1996, the SDF held a conversation about the presidential candidacy, but given the dominance of the BSP, there weren’t many interested parties. “I failed to convince Petar Konstantinov, and Yordan Sokolov also liked me. One day Ivan Kostov told me that his wife and daughter thought I was suitable. Wandering about what to do, SDS – Sofia nominated me as a candidate, and from Since then, things have developed according to a clear scenario,” Stoyanov said.

Talk about communism, transition, crises.

In three days it will be 26 years since the events of January 10, 1997. Bulgaria was then on the verge of civil war. The savings of Bulgarians burned in failed banks. Hyperinflation devalued the leva to the point that a loaf of bread cost 400 leva. And only in the morning.

In the evening, this same bread already cost 450 BGN. Some may have forgotten what calamity had befallen the country. Then, in 1997, Petar Stoyanov had just been elected president and had become the only head of state since the days of the tsar who was not a member of the BKP. The greatest crisis in modern history caught him even before he crossed the threshold of the presidency.

• A week earlier, the law enforcement officer again transported migrants, dressed in uniform and with an official ID
• Runaway inflation and high prices prompted him to act, according to his lawyer

I would not have imposed the most severe measure on you – detention, if you had not worn a police uniform and an official card when transporting illegal migrants.

With these words, Plovdiv judge Nikolay Petrov addressed 23-year-old SDVR police officer Denislav Borisov, informing him that he was leaving him in custody.

The inmate asked for a lighter measure and expressed regret for what he had done. On January 4, he was captured at the 119th kilometer of the Trakia highway, driving a bus with 31 Afghans. He told police he was a colleague and asked them not to check him. He was in uniform and showed his official card.

“This represents a high public danger,” the magistrate noted. According to him, the migrants themselves claimed that they had been told that the person carrying them would be wearing a police uniform. “A week earlier, Borisov committed a similar act,” the judge emphasized.

The young man was silent in the hall, and his father Roman Borisov constantly wiped away his tears. “I can’t talk,” the distraught parent told 24 Hours.

Also in the hall was the prisoner’s uncle, who said that Denislav was a good child and should have taken care of his grandparents. He and lawyer Nadezhda Rimpeva made the young policeman’s entire family, including himself, sick. “Denislav suffers from an allergy. He has a runny nose,” said his uncle Stoyan Stoyanov. And the defendant says the arrest won’t hit him well.

“In a very short period of time, two acts were committed with the migrants,” said judge Nikolay Petrov, announcing his decision.

“He has to take care of lighting the stove for his grandfather and grandmother. Grandfather cannot move, grandmother cannot hear. Denislav fetches wood for the stove. At the same time, he has to help his younger brother at school, since he speaks very good English and German,” continued the uncle. The policeman’s mother did not go to work regularly because she had bone system disease.

“Denislav is not a confrontational person. He doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink, doesn’t use drugs. He has a clean criminal record. He doesn’t bother his parents,” his lawyer added.

Prosecutor Georgi Kodjanikolov retorted that the policeman’s act compromised national security. “He is called to fight against criminal acts, but he used his official position to avoid being controlled by his colleagues,” stressed the accuser.

“Yes, he was behind the wheel of the bus and expressed deep regret. But take into account his young age and inexperience,” added the defender. He cited runaway inflation and rising prices as the reason for his client’s appeal to the law.

“Many are unable to cope with their income. In such a situation, only pensioners who drive on bread and milk can physically survive. But he is 23 years old and has different needs: he plays sports, drives a car, has expenses,” he continued. with her defense. According to her, the temptation for quick money was inherent in young people.

Nadezhda Rimpeva stressed that her client will enter into an agreement with the prosecutor’s office. “His life has changed radically, he has lost his job, he is now subjected to disciplinary proceedings at the Viminale”, she added.

The decision of the Plovdiv Regional Court can be appealed on January 12.

A 12th grader from Silistra discovered the element cadmium while studying the waters of the Danube River in a science and ecology competition. However, after research, it is clear that the increased cadmium concentration is not dangerous for the environment, BNT reported.

Murad Halvani was born in Lebanon, but chose to live and study in Bulgaria. As a keen ecologist, he conducts research on the water and sediment quality of the Danube River. Experts from the institute of the BAS and the eco-inspection in Ruse help him take samples and analyze them. However, the results did reveal the presence of cadmium.

“I received permission from RIOSV-Ruse to attend one of their hearings. With a Border Police boat, we entered the Danube River and took water samples for analysis from three points in the Silistren area. The results showed an increase in all metals. Above all, there is a higher concentration of cadmium,” said Murad Halvani.

“In the Silistra region there is no source that pollutes with cadmium, but in general in the European Union, as well as in Bulgaria, the cause of cadmium pollution is the fertilizers used in the EU,” said Yordanka Marinova, a chemist and ecology teacher.

To know the real picture of the heavy metal content in the Danube, stricter and regular monitoring by eco-inspectors is needed, says Murad.

“They carry out monthly monitoring of the waters of the Danube River and I would recommend such monitoring of the sediments as well, as it will also give a proper assessment of the river’s pollution and more rapid and adequate measures can be taken,” Murad Halwani said.

Cadmium is used in some rechargeable batteries. This is why the experts remind us not to throw them away indiscriminately, but to recycle them. According to doctors, increasing the amount of cadmium is dangerous for both nature and human health.

“It can affect many organs of the human body, starting from the excretory system, the musculoskeletal system, the digestive system, the liver, the nervous system. It causes great damage everywhere, naturally with the corresponding symptoms. Globally, every between 4,000 and 13,000 tons of cadmium are dissipated each year as waste, production waste or cadmium-containing waste. Given that we have been using it for more than 120 years, perhaps it is appropriate to carry out an in-depth analysis of the environment and above all of the soils”, commented Dr. Kamen Kozhuharov, director of KOC-Ruse.

With his research, Murad won a gold medal at the National Eco Competition. And his dream is to work in Bulgaria as a surgeon.