BULGARIA: STEP FORWARD ON JEWISH HOSPITAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SOFIA 001682

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

EUR/OHI FOR JOHN BECKER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV KNAR OVIP BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIA: STEP FORWARD ON JEWISH HOSPITAL
RESTITUTION

REF: SOFIA 1494

Classified By: CDA Alex Karagiannis for reason 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: In a December 14 meeting with the
Ambassador, Minister of Health Radoslav Gaidarski confirmed
that the Ministry is prepared to return the
already-restituted hospital to the Jewish organization
Shalom, but it must wait until the hospital's new facilities
are renovated. To emphasize its willingness to resolve the
issue, the MOH is ready to honor Shalom's request for six
rooms in the hospital immediately (reftel). Shalom reps say
the rooms need serious renovation, but welcome MOH's new
cooperative spirit. Asked about the court case the hospital
recently filed challenging Shalom's claim to the property
(admittedly to forestall eviction),Gaidarski said the
government is clear that the building should be returned to
the Jewish community and promised to request that the
hospital management withdraws the case. MOH's willingness to
cooperate is a welcome result of high-level attention to the
case, but the MOH still owes Shalom a definite deadline for
moving out. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) Ambassador Beyrle met Minister of Health Gaidarski
to discuss, among other things, the pending restitution of
the Sofia Endocrynology Hospital to the Jewish organization
Shalom. Shalom's claim to the hospital was most recently
confirmed by the government-appointed Restitution Commission,
but the cash-strapped MOH has been lagging on vacating the
premises and was reticent to give Shalom six hospital rooms
it requested as an interim measure (reftel). Gaidarski
stated that the issue of restitution "has already been solved
politically" (implying the Commission's report),and that the
MOH had agreed in principle to vacate the hospital. However,
he underlined that the MOH must wait until renovation of the
new facility is complete. These renovations in turn have
been held up because the losing bidder on the contract is
appealing the grant.


3. (C) Gaidarski emphasized that MOH is willing to resolve
the issue and is ready to honor Shalom's request for the six
rooms immediately. The hospital management has identified
rooms that can be accessed separately in order to avoid
conflict with hospital operations. Gaidarski admitted that
the rooms are "not the best" and will need renovation before
they can be used, but stressed that Shalom is welcome to
access them immediately.


4. (C) Separately, Shalom's Executive Director, Sarah
Cohen, confirmed that Gaidarski surprised them last week with
a personal invitation to the hospital to see the premises
offered. She said the building -- a former lab adjacent to
the main hospital -- was in poor shape and probably unsafe to
occupy, but out of courtesy Shalom agreed to communicate the
proposal to the community. In a separate meeting, Shalom
President Emil Kalo welcomed MOH's sudden willingness to
cooperate but stressed that MOH needs to give a clear
deadline of when it expects to move out of the hospital. In
exchange, Shalom is willing to sign a document committing to
abstain from any procedure to evict the hospital unit until
the new building is ready.


5. (C) A potential roadblock is a court case the hospital
management filed against Shalom in 2005, claiming that Shalom
is not technically the successor organization to the
hospital's previous owners. According to Shalom, the
hospital director openly admitted the case was filed purely
as a means to protect against eviction. When asked about it
by the Ambassador, Gaidarski said that the case "doesn't
matter at all." The government is clear that the building
should be returned to the Jewish community, he said, and for
all intents and purposes that meant Shalom. While the case
can only be withdrawn by the hospital management, he promised
to request that the hospital director does so and reaffirmed
that the Ministry was prepared to leave as soon as the new
premises for the hospital were available.


6. (C) COMMENT: The hospital case has gotten a lot of
high-level attention recently, especially in the run up to
the Foreign Minister Kalfin's December 19 meeting with
Secretary Rice. We've continuously raised the issue with our

SIPDIS
high-level contacts, and the GOB expects it to come up in
Washington. The offer of the six rooms is a step forward and
a sign that the MOH is willing to cooperate, but this case is
not over yet. The MOH still owes Shalom a definite deadline
of when it expects the hospital to move, something that could
be stretched by the appeal of the renovation contract. We
will continue to push the Bulgarians to make sure they don,t
lose momentum. END COMMENT.
KARAGIANNIS