BULGARIA: JEWISH COMMUNITY PONDERS OPTIONS FOR

UNCLAS SOFIA 000518

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM KNAR KIRF BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIA: JEWISH COMMUNITY PONDERS OPTIONS FOR
RESTITUTION

REF: SOFIA 444


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Following the recent court decision
rejecting the Bulgarian Jewish community's claim to the Rila
Hotel (reftel),the community and the government have
initiated talks toward a political settlement to outstanding
property claims. The creation of a commission to consider
restitution is a necessary step toward resolving these
claims, but real progress will likely depend on continued
engagement by political leaders. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) In a meeting on April 11, Emil Kalo, President of
the Jewish organization "Shalom," confirmed recent press
reports that the government had created an interagency
committee to study restitution options. Kalo said the
commission was to be headed by Deputy Minister of Regional
Development Kalin Rogachev, but said he had received few
other details. Shalom has not been informed how many
members the commission has or who they are. During an April
10 courtesy call on the Prime Minister for the Passover
holiday, Kalo discussed the commission directly with PM
Stanishev but as yet has "seen nothing on paper."


3. (U) Kalo said that Shalom planned to take advantage of
meetings with political leaders during the Jewish high holy
days to push for a resolution to the properties issue -
including in his April 13 Passover meeting with President
Purvanov. He was not sure if the proposed commission was
intended to work on all outstanding religious property
disputes, or only those affecting the Jewish community.


4. (SBU) According to Kalo, his "conditions" for
participating in a political settlement were the following:

-Shalom would not ask for money from the state, but would
request in-kind compensation (buildings or land). In his
opinion, asking for monetary compensation would add to the
difficulty of reaching an agreement.
-Compensation need not be in the form of a single property,
and it need not be located in Sofia.
-Any proposed compensation property would be independently
appraised prior to settlement.
-The outstanding case of Sofia's Jewish Hospital (see
background below) should be settled prior to the initiation
of negotiations.

The properties for which Shalom has requested restitution
include the site of Sofia's Rila Hotel (reftel) as well as
six other properties in Varna, Yambol, Sliven, and Haskovo.


5. (SBU) The Jewish Hospital case is different from other
restitution cases in that the courts have repeatedly
confirmed Shalom's title to the property and ordered the
government to pay rent, which in recent years, has not been
forthcoming. Kalo said that Interior Minister Petkov had
recently organized a meeting between himself, Kalo, Minister
of Health Gaidarski, and Vaido Danailov from the PM's staff
to attempt to find common ground on the issue. According to
Kalo, Minister Gaidarski agreed in principle to vacate the
hospital, but would not commit to a written timetable or to
paying back rent. Based on his experience in the meeting,
Kalo thought that personal intervention by the Prime
Minister might be necessary to enforce the court order and
open the way to further negotiations.


BEYRLE