The Cabinet is to give financial help to families of teenagers killed or injured in the December 21 tragedy at Indigo disco club in Sofia.

At its meeting on Thursday last week, the Cabinet decided each of the 19 bereaved families will get 2,000 leva, Finance Minister Milen Velchev said.

"There's nothing done or said that would diminish the pain, but despite that I suggested that together with moral support, the Cabinet should adopt a decision on financial aid for these families," Velchev said.

After a stampede in front of the downtown Sofia club, caused by a crowd rushing against the closed entrance, seven teenagers died and 14 were injured.

One girl was crushed by the crowd and died on the spot, and another five girls and one boy died in hospital. A medical investigation showed the children were suffocated.

December 23 was declared a day of national mourning at the suggestion of Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg. Millions of Bulgarians honoured his appeal and lit candles in their windows that day. People lit candles and put flowers in the snow in front of the club.

The tragic accident triggered a wide social response. The media and citizens called on the government to take action to prevent future unfortunate events that involved children.

A task force was formed on Thursday last week to draft a national program for the protection of the health and safety of children and teenagers. Education Minister Vladimir Atanasov will chair the group.

The group has until January 31 to draft a report, which will be used as the blueprint for measures concerning the religious and cultural education of children and the creation of anti-aggression, anti-violence and anti-drug models, Atanasov said.

In an interview with Monitor Daily published on Wednesday, Atanasov said parents were transferring their negative emotions to their children.

"When parents deprive children of attention and distance themselves from their problems, they are leaving the young ones on their own," Atanasov said.

The task group was to offer a working model not just for filling up the free time of children, but to offer sensible activities.

In an interview with Standart Daily last Thursday, Child Protection Agency head Shirin Mestan said that serving alcohol to minors should be prosecuted as a crime and not just punished by a fine.

She said a preventative program was being drafted for children between 12 and 18 years of age and changes to the law would follow.

As of December 24, three days after the tragedy, the police had checked 2,142 pubs and discos around the country by order of Interior Minister Georgi Petkanov. In Sofia, 146 pubs and 47 discos were inspected.

More than 1,500 warning statements and 168 police orders were drawn up.

The inspections resulted in the closing of 15 clubs and discos, one of which was the popular club Sturgaloto, visited by then-U.S. President Bill Clinton in November 1999.

The rent contract between the Youth Cooperation Yalta, owners of Indigo, and the Youth and Sports Agency (YSA), which owns the facilities of Yunak stadium, where the disco was situated, was terminated unilaterally by YSA director Vassil Ivanov on Thursday last week.

Colonel Kiril Voinov, director of the Fire and Emergency Safety National Service, said that Indigo complied with all fire and emergency safety requirements. It had five emergency exits.

The exact reasons for the tragedy are still under investigation. Chief Prosecutor Nikola Filchev has assigned the inquiry to the Specialized Investigation Service.

The only person charged in connection with the incident is Indigo manager Angel Nikolov. He was detained on the night of the tragic event and was held in custody for three days, after which he was released on bail.

Nikolov faces charges of negligent manslaughter. If proven, these charges could result in jail for between five and 15 years.