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© Marc DOSSMANN, © European Union 2019 – Source: EP
“In order to get rid of this authoritarian model of government, we need a strong opposition. And there is no such opposition in Bulgaria,” said Elena Yoncheva MEP in an interview with Deutsche Welle.
Vejdi Rashidov asked the BSP to “withdraw him from Brussels” due to the resolution that the European Parliament passed on Bulgaria. What is the weight of this resolution, how do your colleagues in Brussels speak of Bulgaria?
– The resolution says that the Prime Minister has consistently and systematically removed our country from the European Union in the last ten years. This is a ruling on the rule of law, not on a specific case of trampling the law. This is a constant violation of the rule of law in a member state of the European Union. Both the left and the liberal forces backed this resolution. The EPP and the far right defended Borissov unprincipled and in the name of power. However, let us thank the 23 MEPs who abstained and the seven who voted in favor of the resolution.
As a member of the LIBE Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, I have constantly informed my colleagues about everything that has happened in Bulgaria in recent months: violation of the rule of law, situation with the media, lack of division. of the authorities, the transformation of parliament into an institution that has no weight.
When I said earlier this year that an authoritarian regime was being built in Bulgaria, my colleagues looked at me in surprise, because they were used to talking only about Poland and Hungary. Not much attention was paid to Bulgaria, probably due to Borissov’s behavior in Brussels, the so-called Yes manwho always agrees.
In Bulgaria, however, in response to the resolution, some old scarecrows fluttered, including from the BSP. What’s so scary about the Istanbul Convention?
– The Istanbul Convention has really become a scarecrow. It’s like a great conspiracy theory. In Bulgaria, this issue is so stigmatized that in practice there can no longer be a debate on it. In Bulgaria, it is difficult to understand the great problem of inequality in relation to the position of women in society, with violence against women.
Isn’t the BSP to blame for the lack of debate on these issues?
– I think we follow the wave of nationalists. There was no meaningful dialogue in Bulgarian society, emphasis was placed on the attack on the Bulgarian family, the Bulgarian identity and the Bulgarian foundations. Bulgaria has no problem with the Istanbul Convention – Bulgaria has a problem with the flagrant lack of rule of law, with the increasing stratification of society, with poor education and medical care.
The ruling party, the nationalists and a trap in which part of the BSP, led by Ninova, voluntarily or involuntarily fell, brought the Istanbul Convention as the focus of the resolution, which is a closed issue in Bulgaria because there is a decision of the Constitutional Court . I don’t see why this is done if the goal is not to divert attention to a non-existent problem. As well as the issue with the Macedonian minority. The resolution does not mention the Macedonian minority.
There is tension between you and the leadership of the BSP in the person of Cornelia Ninova. Do you see a common path to follow?
– I do not differ from BSP. I am a leftist. To get rid of this authoritarian model of government, we need strong opposition. And there is no such in Bulgaria. When GERB falls, the Socialists do not raise their rating.
Ms. Ninova has the same qualification as Mr. Borisov. We cannot defeat this regime and future populist formations if Bulgaria does not have strong opposition, from the left and the right. So I started this conversation about Ninova, which I expected my colleagues to have during the BSP election campaign, but there was none.
It says it has consolidated its support for the by-elections. Critics are in the minority.
– Whatever the battles within the party, what matters is what comes out. For example, Ninova is still in the Bulgarian parliament. In this way, this parliament is legitimized, which is completely compromised and the possibility of an interim government is eliminated. If GERB organizes the next elections, the probability that this model will continue in Bulgaria is extremely high. My battle with Ninova is a matter of principle. See how half of the BSP parliamentary group voted for Tsatsarov to become head of the anti-corruption commission.
I think Ninova personally supports Mr. Borissov. She is a strong opposition leader, but of words. When we talk about specific cases, it is not there. It is impossible that the leader of the largest opposition party did not sign three signals for an investigation into the abuse of power by the Prime Minister.
As the Speaker of Parliament, Tsveta Karayancheva, said last week, there is no evidence that the audio recording, in which a man with a voice similar to that of the prime minister utters insulting words against her and threats against you, is authentic. In July, however, he announced that he had such evidence. Why don’t you introduce Ms Karayancheva and the Bulgarian public in detail?
– After this audio recording appeared in the media, the European Parliament took an interest in it. The president of the Group of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, the Iraqi García Pérez, has called for an independent investigation. And after I presented the recording to the President of the European Parliament, David Sasoli, he said that the security services should be warned and the Bulgarian police should be informed. These are steps that every MEP must take when their name comes into this context.
In the audio recording, Mr. Borisov’s voice threatens to my face both a Bulgarian businessman and one of his opponents. I turned over this recording to an independent American laboratory that works with the FBI. It’s called the Beryl Audio Forensic Lab, anyone can check it out. He came out with a detailed analysis that this is Prime Minister Borissov’s voice and the recording has not been tampered with.
That means it was not cut or assembled.
– Exactly. This is the analysis of this laboratory. There was another analysis that came out of “Buffalo”, which gave the recording to another laboratory. They come to a similar conclusion. It is shameful that in Bulgaria the investigation of this recording has not yet resulted.
Did you pass on the experience to the Bulgarian authorities?
– Nobody asked me for this analysis. Of course, I would provide it. But I believe that Bulgaria has enough specialists and capacity to analyze this history. It is not clear to me why it was delayed for four months. Mr Borissov spoke mainly about whether the recording was made legally.
But the most important thing is if the voice is authentic and what it says, if it violates the separation of powers, if it uses state resources to crush businessmen and their political opponents. This is important.
You have read the serious conclusions about the situation of the media in Bulgaria in the Report on the rule of law. Some of the harshest blows to the country’s media were inflicted during Plamen Oresharski’s rule and the protests that accompanied it. Did the BSP manage to break away from the model that became known as #WHO and became associated with the name Delyan Peevski?
– In 2006-2007, Bulgaria was in a similar place to France in terms of freedom of the press. Media freedom is a battle, it is not a fact. Never in the democratic history of Bulgaria has there been such a crushing of the media as under the GERB government. When you crush the media, you crush the whole of society.
In the European Parliament, I am working on a resolution on the freedom of the press for the Social Democrats. I have several proposals that I hope will be accepted. One is that the funds that the government allocates for information campaigns under the EU programs should not go through the respective governments, because in this way compliant media are created. We suggest that there be a fund for investigative journalism, which is very expensive.
