site.btaAtaka Refuses to Talk with GERB Team

104 PARLIAMENT - GERB - ATAKA - TALKS

Ataka Refuses to
Talk with
GERB Team


Sofia, October 18 (BTA) - The representatives of the far-right
Ataka Party refused to talk with the GERB team within the latter
party's initiative for political consultations in its capacity
as the winning party in the October 5 parliamentary elections.

The three members of the GERB team, Tsetska Tsacheva, Menda
Stoyanova and Roumyana Buchvarova, were expecting the Ataka
representatives at the West Hall of the National Assembly, where
earlier this week they had talks with the Bulgarian Socialist
Party, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), the Reformist
Bloc (RB), the Patriotic Front and Bulgaria without Censorship.


Shortly after 13.00 hrs, when the meeting was supposed to begin,
the Ataka representatives, headed by party leader Volen
Siderov, walked into Parliament to make a statement for the
media. They explained their decision not to take part in the
consultations with GERB's refusal to broadcast the meeting live
by the TV channels. "We do not want to be involved in any
behind-the-scene talks. They have lied to us in our face, so we
have bitter experience," said Siderov.

In his opinion, the consultations are pointless as the scheme is
clear - a government of GERB-RB-Patriotic Front with the tacit
support of MRF.

After Ataka's news briefing, the members of the GERB team
commented that Ataka's behaviour reveals lack of respect to the
electorate and the Bulgarian parliamentarianism. Ataka's
condition that the consultations be open to the media is
unacceptable because it is a breach of the mandate, which we
have from the Executive Commission, said Tsacheva. Bouchvarova
noted that they wanted to ask Ataka questions, related to their
support for the government of Plamen Oresharski.
"We wanted to ask them what the price of their support was;
whether they are aware and have readiness to assume
responsibility for the consequence of that government," she
said. GERB further wanted to know whether Ataka are in favour of
continuing Bulgaria's European orientation. "Those who are
against, do not have a place in a joint government with GERB,"
she noted.

Earlier in the day Siderov told journalists that the party
having won the elections is fighting for continuing "colonial
slavery in Bulgaria". He urged GERB to say this openly before
the media and the public rather than behaving like "kind hosts
during Christmas". He criticized GERB's priorities, including
the retrofitting of houses, as not so important for the country
at this moment.

Siderov said further that there is nothing common between the
two parties that would serve as a basis for negotiations. He
referred to their difference in the attitude towards Russia, the
price hikes, the "enslaving" contracts with the electricity
distribution companies, the humiliating pensions, etc. He
predicted that the Cabinet will be subjected to pro-American and
anti-Russian external pressure. According to Siderov, the life
of the GERB-RB-Patriotic Front Government will depend on the
combination of geopolitical factors. "As long as it is useful
for USA, it will stay in power," said he. He even predicted that
such government could be ousted by MRF.

Siderov assumed that GERB leader Boyko Borissov probably aspires
to run for president in the 2016 presidential elections.

Taking a journalist question, Tsetska Tsacheva said that it is
too early to say what Government will be formed and who will be
invited for a second round of consultations. In her opinion,
there would be greater clarity after the talks with ABV on
Sunday, which will be the last ones within the first round.
/LI/TK/