[ad_1]
ACTS Post opinions with a wide range of perspectives to encourage constructive discussion.
A few days ago Albena Belyanova, a lawyer from Sofia College, sent a signal to KPKONPI requesting that the Prime Minister be investigated for corruption and conflict of interest. The reason for this, in addition to the scandalous recordings and photos from his bedroom, is the use of public resources, such as helicopters and company cars, with which Borissov is running a public relations campaign at the expense of the budget. The signal to the Anti-Corruption Commission is an occasion for Venelina Popova to Тоест.бг talk to a lawyer Belyanov
Your signal provoked reactions on social networks, people applauded you, they called you a brave woman, they admired you. But what do you trust, since you know the institutional environment in Bulgaria well? Are you waiting for a miracle and for Sotir Tsatsarov to launch an investigation against the prime minister?
No, I do not expect an objective and complete inspection to take place, but they are obliged to consider the signal I sent them. In such cases, it is important to contact the authorities. Because the main objective of the government is to disappoint the people and think that everything they do against the system will remain unheard of. The refusal of the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the plot with the prime minister’s bedroom and the recordings of his telephone conversations is a refusal of justice. This really has a demotivating effect on citizens and is a literal deception with their intellect. Even the mere fact that they concealed the name of the prosecutor who refused to initiate the investigation proves that an actual inspection was not carried out.
So far, the state prosecutor’s office has found no reason to investigate Borissov. But is it possible to do justice for him while he is prime minister?
No, it is not possible, but you will not be in charge of the executive for long. And I firmly hope that the time will come when prosecutors will meet to investigate Borissov. I was trying to imagine what would happen if photos of my house appeared in the media with the same content as the ones in the prime minister’s bedroom. Or yours and the home of anyone who is critical of the government. Just one example from the last few days: After the car of Siika Mileva’s sister, the chief prosecutor’s spokeswoman, was wrecked, an immediate investigation was carried out within three days and charges were filed for car theft. And the prosecution described the case as “particularly dangerous.”
But if we assume purely hypothetically that the Anti-Corruption Commission still carried out a good faith inspection of his signal and showed that Borisov violated the law, what could be the consequences for him?
I highly doubt this will happen, much less the elections. Furthermore, KPKONPI inspections are carried out so as not to reveal what a certain signal was sent for. Witnesses are also selectively questioned. That is why in my signal of corruption and conflict of interest against the Prime Minister I have indicated a list of people who could be summoned and interrogated to arrive at the objective truth. But he understands that it would be curious, after the Prosecutor’s Office refused to initiate a pre-trial process, for the Anti-Corruption Commission to send him a report, which would contain data on the crimes committed by the Prime Minister. And let’s not forget that until recently, the president of the Commission was the Attorney General of the Republic, during whose term the inviolability of high officials and their close oligarchs was guaranteed …
You have an enviable career for your age, you have held high positions in government institutions and companies. So how do you miss out on being a part of big decisions and energy bucks and becoming a critic of billions worth of projects? Let us clarify that his dismissal as Deputy Director of the State Financial Inspection Agency occurs after his signals to the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance for unlawful actions of the director and for the harassment exercised against him.
I worked for 20 years in state institutions and now I often wonder how it was possible not to see that our country is under control. I have lived under the illusion that the rule of law comes first, that we have state institutions and that we comply with the main international legal instruments. What caused the negative reactions against me was my opposition to certain actions of both the Agency’s employees and its director. When the harassment against me escalated, I sent signals to both the Finance Ministry and the Prime Minister, but they were ignored and I was fired at the discretion of the Agency Director. This opened my eyes to what is happening in our country, where only people loyal to the government without the necessary capacity and experience are appointed to positions of responsibility in the administration.
Given that you have worked in the energy sector for the longest time, is this the sector through which the most money was transferred from the state to private entities during the transition years?
I don’t know how it is in other sectors, but millions have certainly been spent on consulting services just for the Belene nuclear power plant project. These are tons of paper and documentation that were transported by truck during the relocation of the Belene nuclear power plant. On the other hand, the funds spent are already close to BGN 4 billion, and only since the restart of the project in 2002. The government says it will implement it, but all investors will want to know with what assets the Bulgarian side will participate, and still an asset assessment has not been performed, and this is not accidental. The authorities also hide what equipment was actually delivered by the Russian side, only from time to time Temenuzhka Petkova is photographed next to the tarps, under which we do not know what is there. And we pay 1.2 billion BGN, which the National Electricity Company must return to the budget by the end of 2023. But that will never happen.
What will be the fate of this project in the end?
The Supreme Administrative Court is expected to rule on Hristo Ivanov and Atanas Atanasov’s appeal against the 2018 Council of Ministers decision, which restarted the project. In this case, I represent Mr. Atanasov. But knowing the whole process of my work in the Nuclear Regulatory Agency, the negotiations with the Russian side (2012 and 2013) and the termination of the project, as well as the way it was restarted in an opaque way and in violation of the law, I think it can be done now. And that was his last chance.
For these violations he has denounced all the Bulgarian institutions and the Directorate General “Energy” of the European Commission.
Yes, exactly. But what happened at the end of December, when Borissov visited Kozloduy and said: “Here in that meadow will be block 7”, makes me think even more that both the prime minister and the people around him are aware that it is impossible that the Belene nuclear power plant project is implemented. However, due to agreements and commitments with the Russian side, Borissov continues to keep alive the illusion that he is working on the project.
In your opinion, are our partners in Brussels and Washington aware of Borisov’s double game and his commitment to Russia’s energy interests?
Yes, they may not be aware only of the scale with which they have been manipulated, misled, and even misled. Because, after all, they are guarantees given by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Energy. There was a time when General Electric joined the so-called procedure for a strategic investor, apparently then they had convinced the Americans that they would buy the turbo generator from them. But then came much more serious pressure from them to move toward the completion of Belene and the construction of Unit 7 at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant.
Let me remind you a bit: Last summer, you sent a letter to the United States Ambassador and the United States Special Counsel for Justice and Fighting Corruption. In the letter he calls them to real actions against corruption in our country, a fight against which Ambassador Mustafa pointed out as one of the main priorities during his mandate. What effect did you seek with this?
My wish was to say to His Excellency the Hero Mustafa: “Do not give us empty hopes if you will continue to support the government that allowed the ‘deep state’ in our country.” In 2017 I was trained in “Fight against organized crime”. at the George Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Germany, funded by the US Embassy. There we were introduced to the mechanisms by which corruption and organized crime, terrorism and money laundering are illuminated and revealed. They constantly told us not to give up, to keep fighting and to look for the media, which is very important. But when you meet reality and see how it deviates from what we have been taught, it is normal for you to get angry. In addition to the desire to show that not all Bulgarians are crushed by Borissov’s style of government. Because in practice it serves all foreign interests, but not national ones.
Why did the leadership of the National Assembly not submit to discussion his candidacy for the presidency of the CEC, nominated by the Civil Forum “Change”? And then society was deluded that there is only one candidate for the post: the elected Alexander Andreev.
So far, I have not received an answer to this question, although there has been enough publicity of what happened from non-parliamentary political forces. He was convinced in advance that he would not even be heard in the National Assembly. Because a person with my beliefs and civic positions cannot be admitted to this rostrum and say things that should not be heard. But these cases must be made public, because people are constantly irradiated with Borisov’s monologues from the “jeep” and with information from the media close to the government. I firmly hope this is the only way that GERB and everything that this party embodies comes out.
Are your actions alone or is there a party or civic organization behind you?
They are completely alone. I receive strong support from people and organizations, but I make decisions and act alone.
Are you afraid for your family and your children?
Especially at the beginning I received warnings that something could happen to me, they gave me examples with people like me who were injured, there were attempts of provocation by Toshko Todorov – Vice President of the National Audit Office, they tried to pressure me and in relation to my profession lawyer, etc. But I realized that fear would not help me. It is much more unbearable for me to live in fear than to face it.
Would you join a party’s list in the next election if invited?
No, I don’t want to pursue a political career. I think that with my civic activity I am more useful, at least at this stage.
What elections do you expect, fairer or more attempts to manipulate and falsify the vote in this public setting and in a pandemic with limited civil rights?
I hope they are fairer, because many people have stepped forward and expressed their wish that the vote be as fair as possible. I am aware that the status quo will do everything possible to manipulate the election results and will use all kinds of tools to do so. From the behavior of GERB and their desire for the elections to be scheduled for the earlier date, I see that they will limit direct meetings with voters, which will have a negative impact on the campaign, especially from non-parliamentary formations. And they don’t have money for a media campaign. But I hope that the ideas of politicians and parties reach the people mainly through social media. For me, the most important thing is who will be on the party lists. Therefore, with the exception of GERB, I would support any list where you see the names of respectable politicians and experts.
Bulgaria
[ad_2]
