More on politics, war and oil

Sir,

AS one of the correspondents referred to by Paromita Sanatani (Sounding Board, The Sofia Echo, February 13: 'Of war, politics and oil'), I would like to make the following observations. I am not in the business of God bless America, or even Bulgaria, but it seems to me that Paromita Sanatani is unaware of what an isolationist policy causes. It has been responsible for two world wars and several others. Democracy is not brought about by cynicism but rather by people and nations, who are if necessary, to fight for it. It would be naive to suppose that America was being totally altruistic, but it has learnt to its cost, in the past, that not to get involved is disastrous. No one is safe from terrorism wherever they may choose to live, and may I say in conclusion that the ostrich that stuck its head in the sand only suffocated.

Yours faithfully

- Peter Knight
Varna



It's a Bulgarian jungle out there
Sir,

IT was with great interest that I read Keith W Brown's December article on the Mafia stronghold in Bulgaria and the destructive consequences for the population, economically as well as culturally. I have not stayed in the country as long as him, but have made similar cultural observations and reached similar conclusions.
I know a lady in Sofia who runs a restaurant. She tells me that almost daily, her establishment is visited by a well-dressed "gentleman" filling his tummy with exquisite food and slaking his thirst with expensive wines. Everybody knows he has swindled the Bulgarian state for millions, but nobody seems to care. His meals are often shared with politicians, in a jovial atmosphere. Like Mr Brown, I ask why General Boiko Borissov (Mr Cool himself, appearing daily in different media, assuring us that everything possible under the sun is being done to fight crime and corruption) does not order his subordinates to make hell out of this man's life, as well as those of his fellow multi-millionaires, instead of letting the ordinary people suffer the consequences of their crimes?
An example: during the period 1990 to 1992, pensions were cut in half because the state was on the brink of bankruptcy, mainly due to the "entrepreneurism" of these powerful people. My secretary's father worked for almost 40 years as the headmaster of a village school, her mother was a librarian in the same institution. Today they receive together 160 leva monthly in pension. During the winter, the electricity bill alone runs up to 150 a month.
A couple of weeks ago, bTV showed a movie in which Dustin Hoffman says to his son, "Watch out boy, it's a Bulgarian jungle out there!"
I don't know if this is a frequently-used phrase in the US, but it's definitely an appropriate one for the situation in this country at the moment. The front-page article in The Sofia Echo (February 6, 2004) 'Parliament probes Barrelgate' would have been a costly piece of light literature full of humour, had it not been for the tragic fact that its characters are not comedians in a soap opera, but politicians supposed to run a republic, people responsible for the welfare of eight million fellow-beings.
The master of the present misery, Simeon II, who was elected on the basis of his great promises for a better future, seems to have forgotten he promised anything at all. Personally, I was surprised that so many Bulgarians believed in him, having been so bitterly disappointed in former leaders. But as a friend of mine put it: "Who shall I trust if I cannot believe my own king?"
However clever to hide behind diplomatic phrases, Simeon was unable (in an interview on BBC World) to deny the fact that Bulgarian pensioners were having a hard time. But he added something to me sounded like, "I'm proud of our pensioners who wear their hardships with such dignity". Well, looking into the eyes of pensioners in Lovetch, I see more fear and despair than dignity, several of them dying prematurely because they cannot afford the necessary medicines for their different ailments.
Sir Simeon, I do not know if you read The Sofia Echo, only that an issue of the paper is sent to you weekly. So should you happen to read this, this is my plea to you: I have read that your father was a brave man, even defying Hitler. Please show the same courage, and start confronting the corruption and the Mafia in your country to secure your people a better future.

Yours faithfully
- Geir Thomassen
Lovetch