/ world today news/ “I was at the premiere of Elena Yoncheva’s politically-advertised documentary film “Border”. Boring video material presenting familiar circumstances, propaganda in the style of “the only truth” and categorical slogans in the spirit of “Workers’ work”. I had the feeling that I am at a party meeting of the BSP and friends. An enthusiastic audience, an atmosphere of resentment, revenge and the People’s Court of 1944.” This is what Deputy Prime Minister Valeri Simeonov wrote on Facebook and asked several questions.
“Dear Ms. Yoncheva, I have several questions for you:
1. Are you sure of your statement that the fence can be cut by a child with pliers in hand? Moreover, the thick panels of steelized elements, cut with a specialized technique, are clearly visible in the footage.
2. Did you know that there is no fence that cannot be climbed with a ladder? Even the 10-meter fence along the US-Mexico border can be scaled with a 15-meter ladder? Perhaps, on that note, you would suggest applying high voltage to the grid and collecting charred Syrians from the fence?
3. Do you know that the reason for the change of the project from a double-row to a single-row fence, was the alarming increase in the refugee flow in mid-2015?
4. Are you aware that the length of the fence is not 200 km, but 235,661 km, and the value of the facility is about BGN 180 million?
5. Do you know that the driver of the jeep that was driving you is Hristo Kapsazov, a former border police officer who was fired on charges of traffic across the border? Isn’t the record with the highly valuable undercover witness the same policeman who knows the routes and prices of the traffic very well?
And if your answer to the above questions is “No”, consider yourself a failure at the “leaflets” phase of the novice objective journalist exam.
For me, the shot taken not far from Malko Tarnovo, with the huge pit under the suspended part of the fence and You at the bottom of the hole, happily waving her arms at the cameraman, was quite comical. I cannot explain your joy and delight when, contrary to your claims, the fence hung in the air intact, maintaining its mechanical integrity and showing its strength and durability.
Did you know that there is no barrier in front of the water element, especially in the heavily cut mountainous terrain of Strandzha? The rainfall that fell in the Slivarovo area and undermined the border fence in several places was more than 315 liters per square meter!
FYI, the rains in Germany on May 30, 2016 were about 170 liters per square meter, claimed 5 lives and washed away highways (see photo). At 315 litres/m2, the Bulgarian fence remained intact, and at twice the weaker downpour in Bavaria, entire roads were destroyed.
I agree with you that almost all groups of migrants pass through the territory of the country with the assistance of border police. I have personally filed two cases for such employees where effective measures have been taken. One of them was about a border police officer from Sredets, in whose yard in less than a year more than 30 cars used for refugee trafficking appeared. So far, investigations are being conducted and more than 80 people have been convicted by the Border Police. The stakes are high and the temptation is great.
Despite everything, Bulgaria remained the least affected by the refugee flow, precisely thanks to the fence and the actions of the police and army.
Together with MPs from the NFSB and the Patriotic Front, in 2015 we introduced changes to the Criminal Code to increase the penalties for officials involved in human trafficking. The maximum penalty is now 12 years effective imprisonment. Almost every week I am in the border area and directly monitor the migratory pressure towards Bulgarian territory. FYI, there were 0 pass attempts last week.
And what did you do? You filmed with the help of a retired border policeman, well aware of where and when to take you. In the case of the first group of migrants that you showed, you failed an ongoing operation of the Ministry of the Interior to capture our traffickers who were supposed to accompany the group to Bulgarian territory. It is clear to you that the migrants are unlikely to find the way to the west, asking every villager they meet “How can we find the way to Sofia?”. The group was still controlled from Turkish territory, but still – you heroically managed to film lawbreakers with children.
As for the second group of migrants you showed was, in fact, apprehended by the Border Patrol, which you were following on the gurney, trailing behind an ambulance. And you got lucky.
Where did you get your information about the cost of the Greek fence – 250 euros per linear meter – and does it include an adjacent road? Did you know that only the 120-kilometer section in the deforested territory of Strandzha has an adjacent, newly built road, in a virgin forest, with up to 10 kilometers of roads leading from the forest road network in the region? And that all this significantly increases the cost of the facility, which has nothing to do with the Greek fence built on a level field. A fence with a length of 12.5 km. I repeat – 12.5 km. Greek fence against 235.661 km. Bulgarian fence along the entire border with Turkey.
When I walked into the screening, I asked you a single question that I didn’t get an answer to. And he was why didn’t you come to the patrol of the border carried out by a military helicopter on 15.06.2017, after I personally invited Mrs. Ninova and you through her? Perhaps, after seeing the fence in its entire length, you would approach the subject in a different way and be more moderate in your qualifications for something that Bulgaria should be proud of. Namely, with the first and most stable fence against the migrant flow, built by a country in the European Union with its own funds (and not, as you say at the beginning, “and with European money”).
Despite the directed mediocre projections, the Bulgarian border police and army fulfill their duties and oath around the clock in rain, storms and torrents, and the damages after the natural disasters were restored by the companies that built the fence, AT THEIR EXPENSE!
Unfortunately, the damage from your purposeful manipulations is greater than natural disasters, because the latter are fixableand your campaign, chasing petty political goals, disbelieves and despairs a part of society.”
#Simeonov #attacked #Yoncheva #Embarrassment #revanchism #Peoples #Court
