site.btaPresident Radev Comments on "Nazi Salute" Scandal, Judicial Reform

President Radev Comments on "Nazi Salute" Scandal, Judicial Reform

Sofia, May 20 (BTA) - "Condemning Nazism has to be an absolute must, this case can best be handled by an apology," Bulgarian President Rumen Radev told journalists here on Saturday. He was asked for comment on a scandal that erupted earlier this week, after Facebook photos of a deputy minister of regional development and public works, Pavel Tenev, and a head of a Defence Ministry directorate, Ivo Antonov, showing them as giving the Nazi salute, went public and caused an outrage.

The two resigned amidst the scandal. Both were nominated by GERB's junior partner in the government coalition, the United Patriots. United Patriots Co-leader Valeri Simeonov added insult to injury when, trying to downplay the situation, he reportedly told a newspaper reporter that in the 1970s he himself, as a student, visited the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany and may have taken all sorts of "fun-poking" pictures of himself there. Later, Simeonov insisted that the daily had misquoted him.

In Radev's words, Nazi displays are a far more fundamental issue and a matter of principle. He recalled that on May 9 he greeted the Bulgarian people on the victory over Nazism while most politicians did not do so. "Now, though, everybody say there is a problem. In my opinion, the revision of history in recent years has somehow made possible a creeping restoration of Nazi values, and that's where the problem lies," Radev noted, blaming such restoration for scandals like this one.

The head of State refuses to accept the powerholders' damage control bid through "evasive comments in which they argue that these people are professionals." "Nobody doubts these people's perfect professionalism. This is beside the point, the point is whether we condemn these phenomena or not," he added.

Radev's hope is inspired by the response of the Bulgarian public to the issue.

Judicial Reform

The President also commented on a request by Supreme Court of Cassation President Lozan Panov to see him in connection with what is going on in the judicial system.

"Mr Panov is perfectly well aware of the forms in which I can intervene. To me, the State is institutionally strong when all institutions operate under the law, and the checks he wants must be carried out by the appropriately empowered institutions employing the machinery laid down in the law: the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), the Inspectorate with the SJC and a parliamentary commission of enquiry. I will state my opinion on the judicial reform, too, I am open to dialogue, and I believe that a serious debate is indeed in order," Radev pointed out.