site.btaPresident Radev: "I Officially Strip the Government of Confidence"

Sofia, February 4 (BTA) - In an address to the nation on
Tuesday, President Rumen Radev said he was stripping the
Government of confidence.

He said: "As of today, I officially strip of confidence the
Government, which is not acting in the interest of the Bulgarian
 citizens and is responsible for the acute political crisis of
our society."

Radev said he had been urging the Government to work responsibly
 and effectively in the Bulgarians' interest for three years
now, not as a political opponent but as head of State mindful
and caring for Bulgaria's future. Regrettably, he said this had
not happened.

"Today we are witnessing a grave governance crisis at all
levels," said the President. "The lack of a will for reforms and
 for fighting corruption and squander, the systematic trampling
of the law and morality have paralysed entire social systems and
 institutions in a way unprecedented in the history of
Bulgaria's transition."

Radev said: "The residents of Pernik and whole villages in the
region have been left without water, for which the Cabinet has
refused to take political responsibility. Investigations by
foreign media and institutions have spotlighted imported waste
scattered around the country and burnt in local power stations,
poisoning our air and nature. Bulgaria is not a dump and no one
has a right to jeopardize the Bulgarians' health so that a
handful of State-protected businessmen can reap benefits."

"The Cabinet surreptitiously approved a reform of the currency
board arrangement, whose meaning and grounds should have been
clarified to the Bulgarians. Legislation is becoming hostage to
lobbyist interests, while poverty and inequality are deepening.
Even the national sovereignty has been traded off in the name of
 personal political survival. Institutions which are called upon
 to be independent and stand up for the law transgress it
flagrantly, turning the law into an instrument of power. The
State bodies take the liberty to intimidate differently-minded
people and protestors. There is an organized encroachment on
civil liberties," said Radev.

He said that the Government and its rule are causing a
disintegration of statehood, robbing the nation of a future.
"All this must be ended," he said.

"The divide now is not between Left and Right, the capital and
the provinces, but between the iniquitous power-holders and the
millions of honest Bulgarians. I stand with you in the fight to
defend our rights," the President stated.

Concluding his address, Radev said: "Bulgaria's future is that
of a free European country, whose citizens do not fear
repression and put their trust in the law and morality. Let's
unite in the name of justice and statehood, of the good of
Bulgaria." RY/DD