From: nvoiskov@sf.cit.bg (Nikolai Voiskov) Date: Mon, 22 Jul 96 23:28:45 +0200 TO ALL Dear Madams, Sirs, Thank you for your immediate response and given countenance. Very briefly, I would like to provide you with some more information concerning the recent actions of the authorities against the gay-lesbian society in Bulgaria: 1. July 09,1996 - Brutal action against the 'Flamingo center' (FC) on address: 208, 'Tzar Simeon' St., Sofia. .All video tapes / including pictures, negatives, video materials produced by myself, a library of videotapes bought from VIDEORAMA- Scala Agenturen BV. Amsterdam/ , all printed materials, business and financial documentation, the equipment / PC, printers, video recorders, etc./, all the files including the files of our members / 2000 persons/ and clients of the contact 'Agency Flamingo', as well, are arrested. 2. Four days later, police action against the Gay bar - 'Kayo' - Sofia. Now this bar is limited in its working hours. 3. During the same week - police action at the beach, known as a gay beach, near Varna/ the biggest Bulgarian town at the Black sea side/. Mass arrests of the gays including foreign visitors. 4. Police action against the erotic-video center 'Comet', the equipment and all video tapes are seized. 5. Kidnapping of a gay activist in Rouse/ the biggest town and port at the Danube river in Bulgaria/ We have got information from the newspapers for similar actions in the others towns in Bulgaria, but till now I haven't any details. All those actions were reflected and accompanied with a mass tendentious issues of the official newspapers. / Very soon I will send you copies of the issues with a translation/. The issues consists mocking, sarcastic definitions for homosexuals. I would like to provide you with some more details about the action against 'Flamingo center' on July 09,1996. Plain -clothes policemen had approached employees / during this day I was out of Sofia/ with questions about the activities , employees and clients of the 'Flamingo center'. After the requests of my collaborators for police cards to be presented a quick presentation had been done, in a manner which not allowed to be seen the position an name of the officers. When my collaborators / gays and lesbians/ insisted to know the positions and names of the officers they were attacked with brutal sarcastic words and warnings, no more details had been given. Followed searched had been done without an attorney search order/ a search order haven't been presented till now/. The search had been done with a support of uniform policemen from the III-Th. district police station of Sofia. During the action in the FC, and followed interrogations in the police station the manner of the police officer can be described as a brutal, marauding./ during the followed stoke-taking, done by my collaborators, has been established a lot of missing of goods , materials, personal belongings/. Any attempts for contacts between my collaborators and the lawyer were refused. During the interrogations in the 'Flamingo center' and followed in the police station the officers had used psychical and physical brutality. When one of my colleagues - Pencho Penchev told to one of the police officers that he knew his rights the officer warned him and locked him with hand-cuffs. Later on, Mr. Penchev had been forced to change his written report under a warning. There was a very significant fact. When the police wagon approached the police station the reporters of the official newspapers and the first, second channel of the Bulgarian national TV and representatives of the private TV channel ' Nova TV' were waiting. The first person, from the arrested , who was brought out of the wagon was one of my collaborators /who is a gay/ locked in handcuffs. This appeared in short materials in the central evening news of the all TV channels, followed by newspapers issues, with tendentious, negative comments. All above described, shows an centralized, purposeful authorities action against the homosexual part of the society. The official ground for all the actions are: protections of the author-rights/ seized video-tapes/, actions against the prostitution, actions against hooligans, drugs searches. At the same time public opinion is attacked with materials in the official mass media against the people with 'different sexuality'. The mass media issues are tendentious and the given interviews have been used to served this idea. It is very difficult to separate these events from the general political situation in our country. Officially Bulgaria is a new democratic country. Some of the facts: 1. The leading political party is the " Bulgarian Socialist Party" / more then 51 per cents presentation in the parliament. This party is successor of the Bulgarian Communist Party / till 1990/ and consist of persons have taken leading positions in the former Communist party and its structures. 2. Very powerful organized crime - protected /not officially/ by the political forces and the Police. 3. Very weak police structure / excuses for the enormous crime situation/ 4. Policy of confrontation between the different ethnically and social groups with the only general idea to replace the public opinion from the most important problems: - Ruining of the bank system in Bulgaria; - out of control inflation; - shortcut of bread and basic livings products; 5. The most powerful and efficient mechanism of ruling - FEAR. Dear Madams, Sirs, I wanted to be more briefly, but to answer your questions you should have a more clear picture about the present situation. Back to your questions: - It is obvious that the created with an enormous efforts, during the last 5 years ' Flamingo center' / the symbol of the gay and lesbian society in Bulgaria/ with its structures for united the gay peoples in Bulgaria is close to be destroyed. - The ruling FEAR puts in a danger the gays in Bulgaria. / let me remind you that all the files with the members, clients of FC and contact 'Agency Flamingo' is at disposal of the Police. We are limited in our contacts, because we haven't access to the arrested files. There are no possibilities for an efficient protest campaign. It is not possible to involve the official mass media - they serves the authorities. /A significant fact: During the summer of 1995 a TV serial had been prepared for issue trough a national TV channel. The issue of this serial was blocked by the General attorney of Bulgaria - Mr. Tatartchev. His explanation was that in this serials there were homosexual elements which put in a danger the national morality/. The technical equipment of the FC is seized, our accounts are arrested, so we couldn't produce ourselves any materials, and to serve our part/ concerning gay and lesbian activities/ in the only two Bulgarian erotic newspapers. Till now we have only mobilized our active collaborators to inform orally the rest of our clients and friends in all over the country and in abroad about the present situation. The people are afraid of any brutal actions by the police and criminals who are under the protection of the authorities. The action of the Police authorities is concentrated in two directions: - against the gay movement - against my person. I am the only one/ with an established image, recognized by the authorities / who leads all the activities in Bulgaria concerning gay and lesbian movement. About the questions how we could be supported: - Any methodical supports and advises will be appreciated. We would like , if possible, to send a representative of your organization here in Bulgaria, who could build an independent picture about the current situation and to help us with his experience and advises. - We need juridical support and legal advises for our lawyer - Mr. Jasen Stoev. - I appreciate very much your idea a short material to be published in your August emergency relies. Due to the limited communication opportunities here, we will be very thankful if you inform the other organizations and media in the world trough your channels. I thing that you could prepare the material for releases based the information I am providing you. For more details and information please, don't hesitate to contact me. I would like to request for your immediate intervention, because there is a menace of arrests. The only name we could find concerning the police action against the FC is lieutenant- colonel Sharankov from the III-Th. district police station of Sofia. / This name I got from the newspapers./, the examining- magistrate of the patched-up accusation against me is Nikola Marinov from the same police station. Concerning the materials from the newspapers very soon / when we manage to make annotations and translations/ will be sent. We need political support, countenance from organizations, agencies and persons from all over the world. - We need technical support, namely - PC, printer, fax-machine, copy machine for restore of our activities. - Financial support will be very much appreciated, as I pointed above, our accounts are arrested. We want to restart the issue of the only Bulgarian gay- lesbian journal - ' Flamingo', even in a condition to be done underground. The appearance of such issue will keep the faith of our friends, and will show them that never the less of the drawbacks we are alive. The existence of such issue will establish a ground for a public tolerance toward the gay-lesbian part of the society. - We will be thankful if we can be supported with printed and video material. / Our video-library was seized, as well. Among the different titles there were ' AIDS' campaign materials, produced by myself which have been released trough the private TV channel ' Nova TV'. - The arbitrariness, the dissimulation of the official power put in danger our life. Having in mind that the organized gangs are under the auspices and protection of the special services we can expect attempts on our life. That's why I request for your intervention for international political protection and eventually for political asylum for the active members of our organization, my family and myself. Looking forward to hearing from you soon, I remain, Angel Bliznatchki