IT is still undecided whether the engines of the SS-23 missiles will be destroyed at the military test range near Studena village in the Pernik region.

The reason, according to Defence Minister Nikolai Svinarov, is that the technical part of the procedure is still unclear. "We have a method that has been approved, but we do not have a technological scheme on the disassembly of the missiles' engines, which has to be provided by CDI," he said.

The initial idea to destroy the engines at the Studena test range provoked reactions of concern and disapproval from the residents of Pernik and its environs. According to locals, the test range is near the Studena dam, which is the only source of drinking water for 100 000 residents of the Pernik region.

Last week the Pernik Municipal Council approved a declaration to the President, the Parliamentary Speaker and the Prime Minister against the presence of missiles or their components on the territory of the Pernik municipality. The councilors object to the destruction of the missile engines because they are concerned about the impact on the environment and the potential pollution of the waters of the Studena dam.

According to the Pernik Municipal Council, discrepancies in the reports on the destruction of the SS-23 missiles' engines has prompted civil disobedience and a lack of confidence in state institutions.

Early last Wednesday the residents of the area blocked the path of the military column allegedly transporting the missiles' engines to the test range. After a few hours the trucks turned around and went back to Sofia. In the meantime, villagers from nearby Dragichevo organised sentries in order to monitor the traffic of military vehicles on the E-79 highway.

Later it became clear that the column had been transporting tank shells from the tank brigade in Gorna Banya, near Sofia, to the Studena test range.

Defence Minister Svinarov said that there was no movement of missile components to the Studena test range. He also said that the Defence Ministry will familiarise local residents with the environmental impact of the destruction.