{"id":555,"date":"2013-02-01T19:02:37","date_gmt":"2013-02-01T17:02:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.spasspasov.com\/?page_id=555"},"modified":"2017-05-21T20:21:00","modified_gmt":"2017-05-21T17:21:00","slug":"english","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/spasspasov.com\/?page_id=555","title":{"rendered":"English"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bulgaria: Regional media outlets dependent on local governments<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"bulgaria_map_31aug16-768x485\"By Zoltan Sipos, 15 September 2016<\/em><\/p>\n

Between 2013 and 2015, 10 Bulgarian municipalities\u00a0spent a total of 2.7 million Bulgarian lev ($1.54 million) \u2013 mainly to media companies and PR agencies \u2013 in return for positive coverage of their activities, an investigative series by news site Dnevnik.bg<\/a>\u00a0found<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to the articles, the\u00a0local governments of\u00a0the five largest, excluding the capital Sofia, and five of the poorest cities\u00a0in the country were found to be engaging in \u201ccorrupt practices<\/a>\u201d and displayed a disregard for \u201cjournalistic ethics and loyalty to the audience\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Under the guise of using contracts to create advertisements, \u201cjob posting messages and other texts\u201d \u2013 not only in publications but also for radio and television broadcasts \u2013 all 10\u00a0municipalities were found to be buying influence in media outlets and attempting to eliminate criticism,\u00a0Spas Spasov, the author of the series, told Index on Censorship. The cities reviewed were\u00a0Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, Ruse, Pleven, Stara Zagora, Shumen, Kazanlak, Blagoevgrad, Vratsa and Montana.<\/p>\n

The data, which was obtained through freedom of information requests, does not claim to be exhaustive but provides\u00a0an indication of administrative control over news in the cities covered by the investigative reports. \u201cThe idea behind the project was to reveal the deep crisis in which freedom of the press finds itself in Bulgaria,\u201d Spasov said.<\/p>\n

One visible trend in the series is that media content is sold at a discount\u00a0to local governments who buy \u201cwholesale\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe results of my investigation show that virtually all the media in the analysed municipalities are dependent on the public funding they get,\u201d Spasov told Index. The lack of an advertising market outside the capital only\u00a0strengthens this dependence on handouts from local government, he added.<\/p>\n

He found that in many cases the money private media outlets receive from municipal administrations often covers the entirety \u2013 or at least a significant portion \u2013 of their budgets. In one case\u00a0a\u00a0source told Spasov that the entire salary of a journalist was covered by Vratsa municipal funding.<\/p>\n

In the city of Varna some advertising contracts were signed by municipal companies that are monopolies that\u00a0were not in need of advertising. Spasov said that this is a way to buy political and institutional influence in a media outlet.<\/p>\n

Many municipalities were found to be contracting \u201cadvertising\u201d and \u201cpromotional activities\u201d through private media despite the fact that almost every municipality has its own municipal media, through which they already publish official announcements.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, there is nothing vicious in the practice of municipal administrations buying advertising in private media,\u201d Spasov said. He does, however, stress that in order to avoid buying media influence, local administrations and government institutions should publish their advertisements only in media outlets that comply with the Ethical Code of the Bulgarian Media<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis code clearly stipulates that all text covered by the contracts will be marked as sponsored content but this is not the current practice,\u201d he said, adding that vague wording\u2013phrases such as \u201cother texts\u201d\u2013helps to disguise sponsored articles published as editorial content.<\/p>\n

This is possible because Bulgaria has no law requiring print and online media outlets to label\u00a0sponsored content they are publishing. Existing regulation only addresses\u00a0television advertisements.<\/p>\n

\u201cTransparency of sponsored content is crucial for a functioning free press. It is vital that existing legislation on advertisers be reformed swiftly to include all media outlets in order to protect the public,\u201d\u00a0Hannah Machlin, project officer for Index on Censorship\u2019s\u00a0Mapping Media Freedom<\/a>, said.<\/p>\n

The investigation went on to find that many media outlets from smaller municipalities were created by political entities with the purpose of bullying their opponents in local government.<\/p>\n

Spasov told Index that if the remainder of the country\u2019s 256 municipalities were also to be investigated, \u201cthere should be no doubt\u201d that the findings would be similar to the 10 which were analysed in his investigation.<\/p>\n

Tags: \u043a\u043e\u0440\u0443\u043f\u0446\u0438\u044f<\/a>, \u043c\u0435\u0434\u0438\u0438<\/a>, \u0441\u0432\u043e\u0431\u043e\u0434\u0430 \u043d\u0430 \u0441\u043b\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0442\u043e<\/a><\/p>\n

Breakfast for the champion<\/span><\/h1>\n

The story of a marathon runner from a Roma neighborhood, for whom hunger is heavier than Django’s chains<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Dancho<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Spas SPASOV, 1 February 2013<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

(From „Capital“<\/span><\/a>)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

His lips are cracked from the lack of vitamins. And when once, before a competition, they took him for a medical check up, the doctor was speechless. His hemoglobin levels were barely above the critical minimum.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201eIn sports we need a lot of money, but we don’t have it\u201d,<\/span><\/p>\n

‘s coach Nikolai Yankov explains hastily. \u201cAfter a run, he needs to have at least one chicken steak. But when he gets home he eats bread and cheese, if they have cheese at all\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

After one of the laps on the running track at the Dobrich sports hall \u201cDobrotica\u201d the chronometer has just measured 2 min 59 sec. \u201cWow, that was really cool\u201d, shouts Yankov and points at the dial. \u201cIf you manage to get to 2 min 18 secs you’ll be able to compete in any competition in Europe!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Later, while we talk, Dancho looks at his feet and nervously pulls the laces of his training shoes. He is sitting on the edge of the bench, as if he is considering getting up any minute.<\/span><\/p>\n

Who is Dancho, you ask?<\/span><\/p>\n

The Marathon Runner<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Yordan Petrov is a national competitor in athletics. He trains in the \u201cDobrich 99\u201d sports club. In May he will graduate from the sport school \u201cGeorgi Stoikov Rakovski\u201d. Just last year he won 10 medals and two first places in competitions in Bulgaria and tournaments abroad. That makes him the third most successful athlete in Dobrich for 2012 and he has no competition in his school. At the national marathon in Sofia last year he won a bronze medal. Before that he has competed in the World Half Marathon Championship in Kavarna.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201eI’ve been coaching Dancho for almost two and a half years\u201d, says Nikolai Yankov. \u201cHis shyness and modesty are matched only by his talent and resilience. His favorite discipline is Steeplechase (3000 meters obstacle race), but I’m guiding him towards marathon running. It is there that he can develop and grow. If he trains as he does now, I’m absolutely sure he will qualify for the Olympics in Rio in 2016. But I’m afraid they might try and steal him from me. If they manage to tempt him with the short runs, they will destroy him!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Yankov says he has never heard the boy complain. \u201cI saw that he was thin back when we started training\u201d, he explains, \u201cbut it was months before I realized he was starving. Since then I’ve been taking care of him like a father. He should have help\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Then We Went To The Mall…\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

On 20 January this year in Zheleznica, a village near Sofia, about 130 runners gathered to participate in a mountain race for Dancho’s benefit. \u201cJust before the end I got lost on the track, because I have no experience\u201d, he admits and looks down again. Only the best orientation athletes finish before him \u2013 the European vice-champion Kiril Nikolov and Petar Popunkiov. The sum they gathered was 977 leva (about 500 EUR).<\/span><\/p>\n

Dancho interrupts this story urgently, to tell another one. \u201cThen we went to the mall, what was the name… I’ve never been there before. We went with Niki Mihailov’s secretary (Nikilai Mihailov is the national football team’s goalkeeper). He bought me all the things for my prom \u2013 black suit, white shirt, shoes, everything… I must thank him!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Up until last year the boy received a monthly stipend of 300 leva (154 EUR) from Mihailov.<\/span><\/p>\n

The last he could save was 80 leva from his seventh place at the New Year’s cross in Pravec. For his third place as the best athlete in Dobrich’s rankings he received 450 leva (230 EUR). And that’s it.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is where the dark story begins.<\/span><\/p>\n

Emilia’s Melon Field<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

When he explains that he started school at 12 years of age, Dancho’s smile is almost guilty. He runs his fingers over his hair, cut very short and is offended by the question about how he managed. \u201cWhat do you mean how! I managed. I’ve never let myself go! I was only ashamed, because everyone in my class were still babies… But it was what it was.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A woman from the Roma neighborhood in Dobrich’s district \u201cIzgrev\u201d sent him to school. \u201cShe’s my aunt* Emilia\u201d, says Dancho. Then he explains she is not really his aunt. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201eShe’s from the others, a Muslim, but we are Bulgarian gypsies and we’re Christian\u201d, he explains. \u201cWe didn’t have any money and she gave us work. We’re seven brothers and six sisters. We worked, my mother and I, and the rest of the children who could, we dug her melon field and sold the melons in the summer in Sofia. She paid us and bought us three loafs and a salami. She taught me to work and then enrolled me in school.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At first Dancho started training to play professional football. He was the fastest in the team. \u201cI played ball, but my strength was in running\u201d, he says and doesn’t even thing about the date. \u201cOn 23 March 2009 I went to train in the sports hall. I ran 6km for 4 minutes each\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n

The first long distance he ever ran were the 16 kilometers between Dimitrovgrad and Haskovo. \u201cThis was the track\u201d, explains Nikolai Yankov. \u201cDancho had a sort of anxiety about long distances. When he got to the finish he was a changed man. He had gained courage, he realized that he can do it. Right after that he became third in the Malko Tarnovo’s 8 km race in a forest. I couldn’t believe how fast he got into it!\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bate** Liubo’s Bakery <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Yanov recounts how Dancho used to come to his morning exercises hungry. \u201cI only saw him running. But when I realized what was going on, I asked one of our guys who has a bakery close by \u2013 bate Liubo \u2013 to give him something for breakfast. This is how the legend started that Dancho runs on one cheese pastry a day. In fact it was the lunch at the sports school which saved him. Otherwise, no way. Sometimes I give him some money to buy hotdogs. This is how our country is\u201d, says the coach. <\/span><\/p>\n

Before every competition Dancho receives a care package from bate Liubo’s bakery. Muffins and something else for the road. But they never lasted as intended. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe spread them out, so he can eat one every day, but instead he shares them with the others\u201d, Yankov almost shouts. \u201cI can’t stop him, every time it’s the same thing. Several children travel together in the same train compartment and when he takes out his package to eat, he first offers some to the others. He feels uncomfortable to eat alone, he says. What am I to say to that?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Yellow Shoes<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

For the afternoon training in \u201cDobrotica\u201d sports hall Dancho hastily but carefully takes off his brand new pair of yellow running shoes, with which he came. He catches with the corner of his eyes the envious looks he gets from the other boys that are around and quickly explains:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey are from Niki, for snow, for the outside. But these are lighter\u201d, he says and puts on his other, worn out yet also yellow running shoes. <\/span><\/p>\n

The hall’s track is standard \u2013 200 meters. Each training includes eight laps of 1000 meters. After each two fast ones \u2013 two slower ones, so he can recover.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJust look at him, he has style and everything… It’s beautiful!\u201d, Nikolai Yankov exclaims joyfully. \u201cHowever for this type of exercise you need vitamins, minerals, and I can’t give them to him\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

He explains that one training camp at the base of the National Sports Academy in Belmeken costs 1000 leva (510 EUR). \u201cJust the food and the expenses are 50 leva (about 25 EUR) per day. For twenty days, cause there’s no point in less than that \u2013 you do the math! Good thing we have Diakov, the headmaster at the sports school. Recently he took him on a training camp with the footballers in \u201cSportpalace\u201d, near Varna. After that we went on another one with the athletes in \u201cKamchia\u201d. I’m hoping this will be enough to get him a bit more on track. This is what we can do now to go forward. <\/span><\/p>\n

But forward goes down a long and muddy street. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Movie<\/strong><\/span>
\nIn the twilight you can see people who are coming home to the gypsy ghetto in Dobrich, they turn invisible. Almost at its end, one of its little allies turns into a steep slope down. At the bottom the darkness is even thinker.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where I live\u201d, Dancho points, but you can barely see anything ahead.<\/span><\/p>\n

The national competitor in athletics shares a single room with his younger brother and his stepfather. It’s the only one that has survived while everything else around it has fallen to ruin. He shares with them something else \u2013 his dead mother’s pension and the child allowance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had no idea he lived in such poverty\u201d his coach whispers. \u201cThere is no water inside, no canalization \u2013 not-a-thing! Five months they were without electricity because they owed the electric company 700 leva (about 360 EUR). There were some good people who changed their old windows. Not that you can tell the difference much, but still…\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Inside it is warm and depressing. The big flames from the firewood lick the broken down cooking stove in the middle of the room, and from it comes the smell of burned fat. They are frying potatoes for dinner.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLook, this is my mother\u201d, Dancho points at a frame, which holds several pictures. She passed away in February last year. She had bleeding of the brain, \u201cshe was sick and that’s why she died\u201d, he explains.<\/span><\/p>\n

In another frame he keeps the pictures from his competitions. Near it, hanging on some nails, are his medals. But since we were talking about his prom I ask him about his suit.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201eOh, it’s with my aunt Emilia\u201d, he says and gives me a bewildered look, as if I should have thought of it myself \u201cHow can I keep it here, it will get dirty!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Before the prom he has his final exams. \u201cI have a few 4’s*** in Bulgarian, but I’ll fix that\u201d, he says. \u201cI’ve decided to take an exam in Russian and in Philosophy. My strength is Philosophy \u2013 there I have only 6’s. In Russian I have one 6 and one 5\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Holding two of his trophies, the marathon runner smiles for a photo. Behind him the flash rummages in the corners of the room and makes the poverty even more insulting. <\/span><\/p>\n

After the charity run near Zheleznica they took Dancho to the movies. For the first time at the age of 19. There he saw „Django Unchained“.<\/span><\/p>\n

–––<\/p>\n

* <\/em>Aunt is sometimes used to convey close relationship with a woman, older than the speaker, even when there is no family connection. <\/em><\/p>\n

** <\/em>Bate is a used in Bulgarian to address respectfully an older brother and men\/boys slightly older than the speaker, regardless of whether they are relatives.<\/em><\/p>\n

*** The Bulgarian grading system is from 2 to 6, with 2 meaning \u201cfail\u201d and 6 meaning \u201cexcellent\u201d. <\/em><\/p>\n

––––––––<\/p>\n

Bulgarian Spring: Self-Immolations Highlight a Desperate Electorate<\/h1>\n

Protests over the last three months in Bulgaria have included several self-immolations meant to draw attention to corruption among political elites with ties to organized crime. But few expect Sunday’s parliamentary elections to change much.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>By Jan Puhl, „Spiegel“, May 08, 2013<\/p>\n

The city hall in Varna is a hulking, late communist-era eyesore with mirrored windows and a concrete canopy above the entrance. People instinctively lower their heads as they walk in. Plamen Goranov set himself on fire on the plaza in front of this building, which seeks to turn citizens into subjects.<\/p>\n

At a little before 7:30 a.m. on February 20, Goranov turned up in front of the mayor’s office carrying a gas canister and a banner. The city council should resign, he shouted before pouring gasoline over his body and setting himself on fire.<\/p>\n

What happened next is still unclear. Did city employees truly react as quickly as possible and fetch a fire extinguisher? Was there a scuffle with security personnel?<\/p>\n

In the ambulance, Goranov allegedly told a paramedic that his intention had been to stage a protest, but not to kill himself. Nevertheless, he died of severe burns 11 days later.<\/p>\n

His friends have spent a long time searching for witnesses. About 20 people must have seen Goranov’s self-immolation, but no one is willing to speak openly about it. There are also video recordings of the incident taken by four surveillance cameras pointed on the square. But the authorities are withholding the video material.<\/p>\n

Goranov was not the first or last person to set himself on fire in Bulgaria recently. Five other desperate men have also committed suicide by self-immolation<\/a>, but the case of the 36-year-old was the most widely publicized. He had long been an activist against corruption and the abuse of power, and his intention had been to protest against the government.<\/p>\n

„Plamen was our moral conscience,“ says Nick Todorov, a friend. Goranov was a mountain-climber who loved nature, Todorov recounts, as well as working occasionally as a window washer. He says that his friend tried to live his life without harming others, without becoming a burden on society and without destroying the environment. Goranov was also on the front line of the protests against the government that began in February.<\/p>\n

Since Goranov’s his death, banners have appeared on the square in front of city hall. One reads: „You have inspired our courage and our love of freedom.“ On another banner, the word „Plamen“ is written in flaming yellow and gold letters. Plamen also means „flame“ in Bulgarian.<\/p>\n

Goranov has become a hero for the protesters who have been demonstrating against the government for the last three months. Hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets nationwide, with up to 30,000 demonstrating in Varna, a large city and seaside resort on the Black Sea coast. Although they are ostensibly protesting rising electricity prices, their real target is the country’s corrupt political class.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Boiko Borisov was already forced to resign in February<\/a> in response to pressure from the street. Two weeks ago, a scandal broke that also weighs heavily on the former premier. A wiretapped conversation reveals that he apparently tried to cover up a corruption case. Bulgaria will vote for a new parliament this Sunday, but according to a poll by the news agency Novinite, some 41 percent of citizens are convinced that the election will be rigged. Indeed, there is little hope that it will bring real change. Borisov is running again, but the opposition is seen as being equally corrupt.<\/p>\n

Organized Criminals in Control<\/strong><\/p>\n

Old boys’ networks left over from the communist era have divided the country among themselves. They dominate the parliament and government agencies, they secure the best contracts for themselves, they threaten the press and they are in league with organized crime. Bulgaria is the poorest country in the European Union, with a stagnating economy. Up to half a million Bulgarians have already emigrated.<\/p>\n

The euphoria of 2007, when Bulgaria was accepted into the EU earlier than anticipated, has disappeared completely. The EU has just decided<\/a> not to accept the country into the Schengen Area of border-free travel.<\/p>\n

But Goranov’s death has shaken Bulgaria. Since then, residents of Varna have congregated every Sunday on the square where it happened to hold religious services. They have piled up stones to create a memorial for Goranov, drawing their inspiration from the poem „Gramada“ by famed Bulgarian writer Ivan Vazov, in which villagers build a mountain of rocks in front of the house of their mayor to protest his alliance with evil forces, the Ottoman occupiers of the day.<\/p>\n

Goranov also believed that Varna’s politicians are in league with evil forces. But, in this case, it is a company called TIM that controls the city. And more and more Bulgarians agree.<\/p>\n

TIM reportedly stands for the first letters of the first names of its three main founders, former elite soldiers who started a security and personal protection company. The company’s logo includes the image of a Trojan horse.<\/p>\n

TIM is said to have raised some of its starting capital with smuggling, gambling, car theft, prostitution and the drug trade, allegedly investing the proceeds in legal companies. It quickly grew into an empire. In a 2005 cable published by Wikileaks, the US ambassador described the cartel as „the up-and-coming star of Bulgarian organized crime.“<\/p>\n

The number of employees at the TIM Group is estimated at about 30,000 today. The company owns shares in the airline Bulgaria Air, and it operates six television stations, Varna’s biggest newspapers and the company Chimimport, which deals in crude oil, fertilizers, chemicals and grain.<\/p>\n

„Varna is a reflection of all of Bulgaria,“ says Spas Spasov, one of the country’s few independent journalists and an expert on the TIM Group. Since his magazine, Kapital<\/em>, can’t afford an office for him, the 53-year-old works from home.<\/p>\n

„Most politicians on the city council aren’t interested in Varna’s affairs. They just want to line their pockets,“ says Spasov. They know better than to tangle with TIM, the city’s largest and most powerful employer, he explains. On the contrary, says Spasov, almost every time there are public contracts to be awarded, they go to companies in the TIM Group at preferential terms and without a public bidding process.<\/p>\n

Change without Change<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spasov is the chronicler of these scandals. TIM has left him alone so far and has only threatened him once, when one of the company’s executives sent the journalist the classic Chinese military treatise, Sun Tzu’s „The Art of War.“ In a handwritten note, the sender remarked: „You should not wage war with someone you cannot beat or you cannot turn into your friend.“<\/p>\n

Spasov was undaunted and has continued writing, especially about Avenue No. 1, a typical case of corruption. It revolves around a park in downtown Varna that stretches along the coast. The park includes beaches with fine sand, waterfront mansions, landmarked caf\u00e9s and changing rooms from the 1920s.<\/p>\n

The city was in fact not permitted to sell the park, but the mayor and his staff came up with a solution for TIM. The legal status of the site was changed and the purchase price set at a ridiculous \u20ac50 per square meter (about $6 per square foot). TIM now plans to build a marina, hotels, luxury condominiums and restaurants on the site.<\/p>\n

„We Bulgarians are no more corrupt than other nations,“ says Spasov. „It’s just that we didn’t have a real revolution in 1989.“ Then-dictator Todor Zhivkov was overthrown in a palace revolt. „But in contrast to Poland and East Germany, the old elites remained in power,“ Spasov adds. „They took on new names and seized control of the most lucrative government-owned companies.“<\/p>\n

Plamen Goranov was apparently in despair over how TIM was taking over his city. Last summer, he and a group of friends organized a performance in Varna during which three worms – marked „T,“ „I“ and „M“ – devoured a golden apple. „It was supposed to symbolize the city,“ says Radostina Petrova, who witnessed the performance. An old refrigerator, cold and immovable, represented the citizens. „People were very enthusiastic,“ says Petrova, who is wearing a round felt cap that once belonged to Goranov.<\/p>\n

„I’m shaken, but I’m not completely surprised that it came this far,“ says Petrova, who until recently was studying graphic design in the United States. Goranov had apparently become increasingly frustrated. When a crowd protested in front of the headquarters of the local energy utility, he said: „This doesn’t do anything. There is no one here. No one will even see us.“<\/p>\n

Others claim that they also heard him say something like: „Perhaps I should set myself on fire.“<\/p>\n

Ivan Vazov’s poem „Gramada“ turns out badly, at least for the powerful. The mayor is forced to flee, but the pile of stones keeps on growing.<\/p>\n

––––––––––––<\/p>\n

Gravely damaged media pluralism<\/h1>\n

„The Economist<\/a>„, Apr 23rd 2013<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

ONE of the most discussed issues in Bulgarian media is the topic of the deteriorating media freedom in the country. Consistently ranking last among European Union members the country keeps regressing. Bulgaria now ranks 87th<\/sup> in Reporters Without Borders\u2019 latest annual Press Freedom Index, down from 35th<\/sup> in 2006.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a growing concern that most of the media have retreated from their main function, to inform the public on relevant topics,\u201d says Nelly Ognyanova, a Bulgarian media law expert. \u201cThe media is often serving political parties and various economic groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several calls from abroad underline Ms Ognyanova\u2019s assessment: the American Department of State counts the \u201cgravely damaged media pluralism\u201d in the country as one of its most pressing human rights problems<\/a>; the European commissioner for digital agenda, Neelie Kroes, wrote a letter<\/a> to the then prime minister Boyko Borisov urging him to protect independent media. Matthias H\u00f6pfner, the German Ambassador to Bulgaria, is often quoted<\/a> commenting on the \u201cdangerous challenges\u201d facing the media freedom in the country.<\/p>\n

One of these challenges is the fact that \u201creporters continue to face pressure and intimidation aimed at protecting economic, political, and criminal interests“, Freedom House wrote<\/a> in its latest \u201cFreedom of the Press\u201d report. The pressure comes from all sides, even from the state: in early April a journalist, Boris Mitov, was questioned by prosecutors in connection with an article of his that alleged a connection between the Sofia deputy city prosecutor, Roman Vassilev, and illicit wiretapping. Mr Mitov was pressured to reveal his sources. When he declined he was reportedly told that he could be jailed for up to five years for disclosing state secrets.<\/p>\n

Last summer, Spas Spassov, an investigative journalist from Varna, received a more subtle reminder of the boundaries journalists should not cross: after a series of critical articles on a local business group, he got Sun Tzu\u2019s“The Art of War“ in his mail. Included was a note quoting a passage from the book: \u201cYou should avoid those you can\u2019t either defeat or befriend.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Another distinctive feature of Bulgarian media is the lack of transparency of who owns it\u00a0 \u201cMedia ownership in Bulgaria is like a Matryoshka doll: there is always one figure behind the other,\u201d says<\/a> Orlin Spassov at Sofia University. For instance, New Bulgarian Media Group, a company with close ties to the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, a political party, owns numerous high-circulation newspapers and a popular TV channel. Before the parliamentary elections in 2009, the newspapers owned by the group were highly critical of the Movement\u2019s political rival, the GERB party and its leader, Boyko Borisov. After GERB won the elections, the group\u2019s papers changed their tone overnight and became strong supporters of Mr Borisov.<\/p>\n

One Matryoshka doll behind, the New Bulgarian Media Group is largely financed by the Corporate Commercial Bank (CCB). As it happens, in recent years the rather small private bank held a large portion of the funds of the state-owned enterprises in the energy, transport and defence sectors. This means, observers say, that the CCB is, in effect, financing the group\u2019s media outlets, including the country\u2019s highest-circulation newspaper, Telegraph<\/em>, with public funds.<\/p>\n

This is not an isolated case. Financial troubles in the media industry have left many outlets depending on public funds. (The advertising market has contracted by more than a third since 2008.) While there are no official subsidies for the press, according to Freedom House, the advertising expenditures of state agencies represent the second-largest source of advertising revenue for the print media. Since 2009, the state, through its ministries and government agencies, has directed<\/a> over 28m leva ($19.5m) to private media by placing advertisements and launching information campaigns. Most of these funds come from the EU\u2019s programmes. A telling anecdote is the case of a 25-year-old former employee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food who received \u20ac50.000 for the task of creating Facebook and Twitter profiles for promoting the EU’s Rural Development Programme.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is widely believed that by using public resources the authorities are securing media comfort,\u201d says Nelly Ognyanova. \u201cThe EU membership did not lead to more media freedom. On the contrary, EU funds are increasing the rift between media close to the government and the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

This rift is becoming especially apparent during election campaigns. Bulgaria is facing a snap poll on May 12th<\/sup> after the government resigned amid mass protest earlier this year. The (legal) practise of political parties paying for coverage becomes problematic since the paid-for political reports are rarely identified as such.\u00a0 The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) noted<\/a> on the previous election campaign in 2011 that \u201cvirtually all campaign coverage in the media had to be paid which resulted in a near-absence of editorial coverage of the campaign\u201d. Not much seems to have changed this time around as the Council for Electronic Media, the independent media regulator in the country, has acknowledged<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Election coverage, opaque ownership structures and harassment of journalists are the main reasons for the deterioration of media freedom in Bulgaria. Some disagree<\/a>. According to Tzvetan Vassilev, a banker, there is too much media freedom in Bulgaria. Mr Vassilev is the majority shareholder in the CCB.<\/p>\n

The same article as it apears in „The Economist“<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

––––––––<\/p>\n

Questions about the secret power<\/h1>\n

Bulgarian journalists have addressed \u0430 second letter to Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov inquiring about illegal tracking of conversations in the country
\n<\/em><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>To Mr. Sotir Tsatsarov<\/p>\n

Dear Mr. Chief Prosecutor,<\/p>\n

We turned to you on February 15, 2013, regarding a public statement of Boyko Borisov, the Prime Minister in the GERB Cabinet, claiming he could order the competent authorities to launch surveillance cases against any Bulgarian citizen \u2013 a statement perceived by the international organization Reporters without Borders as a destructive message that could have \u201cdisastrous consequences not only in Bulgaria but throughout the Balkans.\u201d<\/p>\n

We, who signed the letter, called upon you to order a probe to establish if such cases have been initiated on the instructions of the then Prime Minister and if they are, which services are conducting them, against whom, what are the cases exactly, and what is their procedural stage?<\/p>\n

Our request touches upon one of the most painful problems in the country: bringing to light how secret power is used in Bulgaria.<\/p>\n

We are yet to receive an answer, despite the fact you were precisely the one to declare you would be the guarantor of rule of law in Bulgaria and because you are the person having the authority to do so.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the well-grounded assumptions of lop-sided use of special surveillance devices and of arbitrary use of the information obtained from them, led to a progressive deterioration of public climate in the country \u2013 we observe a dramatic collapse in the trust in institutions authorized to conduct investigations. This creates conditions for escalation of tensions and for stripping these institutions of legitimacy.<\/p>\n

Despite numerous evidence of illegal use of special surveillance devices, the prosecution is not taking upon itself to probe the facts, and is, instead, searching for the sources of the tipoffs and threatens the whistleblowers. The latest such example of inadmissible violation of freedom of speech is the \u201cinvitation\u201d to a journalist to reveal his sources.<\/p>\n

Today, we turn to you again with the conviction that your directive to launch pre-trail proceedings is necessary for preserving stability in society.<\/p>\n

These proceedings must establish:<\/p>\n

Have the Prime Minister and former Interior Minister in the GERB Cabinet, senior employees at the Interior Ministry, and people from their circles conducted illegal wiretappings and have they ordered surveillance cases against Bulgarian citizens?;<\/p>\n

Is it possible to apply legally authorized use of special surveillance devices on people who have nothing to do with any criminal activities?;<\/p>\n

Is it possible that employees of the Interior have intentionally misled the Court by including in requests for the use of special surveillance devices the tracking of people with political or business aims?;<\/p>\n

The abundance of information and tipoffs, published in the last three months, are not just legal grounds to launch pre-trial proceedings, but as they include concrete facts, they can be used as sources of evidence under the Penalty Code.<\/p>\n

The journalistic publications, which are concrete, probable, and easily verifiable, leave no doubt the information available to you exceeds by far procedural standards which mandate the prosecution to launch legal investigations.<\/p>\n

Our persistent request to launch pre-trial proceedings further stems from the fact this is the only possibility to secure procedural protection of witnesses as their revelations of the truth about crimes presume a dangerous confrontation with the \u201csecret power.\u201d In addition, the interrogations from a probe cannot be used in a criminal trial and the interrogated cannot ask the prosecutor to provide protection. This is possible only in pre-trial proceedings, which is of utmost importance for the whistleblowers and the investigators alike, and for civil trust in authorized institutions.<\/p>\n

The huge volume of journalistic publications on the issue (over 300 since the beginning of the year) is a demonstration of the high-level of insecurity people in Bulgaria have to cope with, while your failure to react accordingly, in the absence of other functioning institutions, has the potential to increase the citizens\u2019 negative attitudes towards the system.<\/p>\n

Society, Mr. Chief Prosecutor, no longer believes in your office as there are founded suspicions it generates crimes and refuses to probe them. We fear that your inactivity or simulations of actions, especially in the current political moment, can expose you as an accomplice. For this reason, we insist on the removal from the probe of all individuals who are connected to the former Interior Minister; individuals whose names and professional careers are notorious among the country\u2019s legal circles. We insist for the pre-trial proceeding to be assigned to irreproachable professionals. We wish to reiterate that your intervention is a must, as in this concrete case all boundaries of tolerance have been crossed, and because your continued inactivity would contribute to already existing suspicions of our European partners that in Bulgaria violations of human rights are being tolerated at the highest level.<\/p>\n

Regarding the legal frame of the use of special surveillance devices, we assure you that we will call on the future parliament to establish an ad-hoc inquiry committee to conduct a complex probe of normative acts and their application in practice by all authorities, including the Supreme Prosecutor\u2019s Office of Republic of Bulgaria.<\/p>\n

Respectfully,<\/p>\n

Association for European Integration and Human Rights, Vesislava Antonovaq, Georgi Atanasov,,Ivan Bakalov, Emi Baruh,,Ivan Bedrov, Marin Bodakov,\u00a0 Rossen Bossev,\u00a0 Yassen Boyadzhiev,\u00a0 Silvia Velikova,\u00a0 Prolet Velkova,\u00a0 Mirela Veselinova,\u00a0 Petar Volgin,\u00a0 Petya Vladimirova,\u00a0 Svetlana Georgieva,\u00a0 Assen Genov,\u00a0 Stoyana Georgieva,\u00a0 Valya Gigova,\u00a0 Yonko Grozev,\u00a0 Yavor Dachkov,\u00a0 Mihail Ekimdzhiev,\u00a0 Hristo Ivanov , Assen Yordanov,\u00a0 Hristo Komarnitski , Stanislav Kostov,\u00a0 Lili Marinkova,\u00a0 Boris Mitov,\u00a0 Konstantin Pavlov,\u00a0 Polina Paunova,\u00a0 Rumen Petrov,\u00a0 Spas Spassov,\u00a0 Vesselin Stoynev,\u00a0 Svetoslav Terziev,\u00a0 Tsvetozar Tomov,\u00a0 Stoyko Tonev,\u00a0 Antoaneta Tsoneva,\u00a0 Koprinka Chervenkova,\u00a0 Atanas Tchobanov,\u00a0 Maria Guineva<\/em><\/p>\n

––––––––––––<\/p>\n

The \u201cProtestors on Eagle Bridge\u201d win the \u201cHuman of the Year\u201d 2012 Award<\/h1>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Spas Spasov took home the special award for journalistic courage. Spasov is a correspondent for daily online edition Dnevnik and weekly print Capital in Varna.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

10 December 2012, Sofia<\/em><\/p>\n

(From The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

The Association of European Journalists \u2013 Bulgaria, Toma Belev, Rosen Bosev, Radoslav Stoyanov, Spas Spasov and Bivol<\/strong> are among the others honoured in BHC\u2019s annual awards recognizing the contribution to human rights and rights protection<\/p>\n

The Protestors on Eagle Bridge were honoured with the first prize \u201cHuman of the Year\u201d 2012 in the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee\u2019s (BHC) annual awards recognizing the contribution to human rights and rights protection.<\/p>\n

The awards were announced today, December 10th<\/sup>, the International Human Rights Day, at an official ceremony in Sofia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe protestors on Eagle Bridge<\/strong> are the \u201cHuman\u201d this year. We recognize their outstanding ability to mobilize against a government that abuses not only its public power through private interests, but also its sovereign \u2013 the citizens, by allowing itself to take political and legislative decisions on behalf of their name and not in their interest. In such a way the government distorts the very basis of representative democracy \u2013 the approval of laws through parliament by us – the people,\u201d said Margarita Ilieva, Attorney-at-law, Director of the Legal Defence Programme at BHC and Chairwoman of the Human of the Year award jury, at the ceremony.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe individual protestor on Eagle Bridge showed to this dishonest government, that the Law is not their toy \u2013 an instrument for trade with the rich, but our pillar against the creation of a political system for the exploitation of the common goods for a minority of institutionally and financially empowered players, lacking any kind of moral respect for the legal order \u2013 at the expense of us all. The protestor on Eagle Bridge reminded the self-forgotten and arrogant, unpunished, temporary inhabitants of our institutions, that the power flows from us,\u201d added Margarita Ilieva.<\/p>\n

Besides the first prize \u201cHuman of the Year,\u201d the jury presented two runner-up and three special awards.<\/p>\n

The Association for European Journalists<\/strong> \u2013 Bulgaria and Toma Belev were honoured with the two runner-up awards.<\/p>\n

The activity of the Association of the European Journalists (AEJ) \u2013 Bulgaria acts in defence of the freedom of expression, media independence and our right, as citizens, to receive information, that is untainted, not manipulated and serves us and the public interest and not private, political or corporate interests of certain individuals. The association has implemented a number of initiatives in the name of professional journalism, including a platform for data collection for the needs of investigative journalism and civil society projects. Every month, the association publishes a ranking for quality and non-professional journalism. In 2012, AEJ repeatedly signalled for unethical behaviour, inciting interethnic hatred and discrimination, as well as threats and pressure on journalists.<\/p>\n

Toma Belev<\/strong> was the Director of the Vitosha Nature Park until February 2012, when he was removed from his post due to political and financial interests. The leading Bulgarian nature conservationist is one of the leading members of the coalition Let Nature Remain in Bulgaria, which encompasses nearly 50 non-governmental organizations and civil society groups, who are fighting against the threats to protected territories in the country. After his removal, Belev has risen as a natural leader in the green movement, a leading factor in the fight for the protection of Bulgarian nature, one of the strongest and most compelling voices in the debate surrounding the Forest Act.<\/p>\n

The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee and the \u201cHuman of the Year\u201d 2012 jury presented three special awards:<\/p>\n

Rosen Bosev<\/strong> took the prize for overall contribution to the protection and promotion of human rights in Bulgaria. Rosen Bosev is part of the team at the weekly newspaper Capital since 2005. He was distinguished for this large array of outstanding texts, dedicated to the problems of the judicial system, rule of law and human rights in a democracy. He has been honoured three times with the Access to Information Programme Award for using the Access to Public Information Act.<\/p>\n

Spas Spasov<\/strong> took home the special award for journalistic courage. Spasov is a correspondent for daily online edition Dnevnik and weekly print Capital in Varna. He is the author of numerous journalistic articles against racism that are important for the public interest. This year he sent a signal to the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Bulgaria for the racist verbal abuse in the article \u201c\u0411\u043e\u043a\u043b\u0443\u0446\u0438\u201c[1]<\/a> by Kevork Kevorkian, stating that \u201cthe silence that follows such texts is full of concern, humiliation and is dangerous\u2026and that sooner or later this silence will bury us.\u201d Spasov is also the journalist that published consistent and critical work concerning the \u201cFirst Alley,\u201d for which he was threatened by the interest group TIM. Nevertheless, Spas never gave in and continued writing critiques like a true journalist.<\/p>\n

(The members of the \u201cHuman of the Year\u201d 2012 jury, who work at Economedia abstained from participation and voting during the review of the last two nominations.)<\/p>\n