From: [email-masked] (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