Bulgaria has established and is now leading a NATO multinational battle group
Bulgaria Stands Up Multinational Battle Group
MARCH 19, 2022 | BY DAVID VERGUN, DOD NEWS
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III speaks to soldiers assigned to 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Bulgaria, March 18, 2022.
Bulgaria has established and is now leading a NATO multinational battle group.
It’s an important step in the face of nearby Russian aggression in Ukraine and the United States fully supports it, said Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III.
Austin and Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov held a joint press conference today in Bulgaria.
U.S. and Bulgarian forces are training together, and Bulgaria is also working on important defense modernization efforts as outlined in a bilateral 10-year roadmap for defense cooperation, the secretary said.
“Your commitment is a model for other allies to follow. Improving Bulgaria’s military readiness and NATO interoperability is even more vital today,” he said.
The secretary also thanked the prime minister for Bulgaria taking in more than 80,000 refugees as a result of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
“In our conversation, the prime minister and I were both struck by the courage and the conviction of the Ukrainian people. They’re fighting against huge odds to defend their country. And their struggle is crucial for the rules-based international order and for the common values that Bulgaria and United States share,” the secretary said.
Petkov said America has shown tremendous support to Bulgaria.
Unfortunately, there is now not a single country that can live with the illusion that they are safe and secure since the Russian invasion began, he said.
“No one can defend themselves alone. Our security lies with the collective security with our allies within NATO,” he said.
The United States has agreed to provide a Stryker unit to contribute to the battle group in Bulgaria, he said, mentioning that the battle group commander will be a Bulgarian.
That sends a strong signal to other NATO allies to also help boost Bulgaria’s military forces, he said.
The prime minister also said the U.S. and Bulgaria discussed logistics and ways to better facilitate troop movements such as building roads, railroads and a bridge over the Danube River.
We have responded to the crisis quickly.
Activating our defence plans,
raising our readiness,
and deploying the NATO Response Force for the first time for our collective defence.
There are now hundreds of thousands of forces on heightened alert across the Alliance.
One hundred thousand US troops in Europe.
And around 40,000 troops under direct NATO command, mostly in the eastern part of the Alliance.
Backed by major air and naval power.
As well as air defences.
The US is currently deploying Patriot batteries to Poland.
And Germany and the Netherlands are also deploying Patriots to Slovakia.
We will also consider major increases to our air and naval deployments.
Strengthening our integrated air and missile defence.
Reinforcing our cyber defences.
And holding more and larger exercises.
I expect we will task NATO’s military commanders to develop options for our Madrid Summit in June.
Major reinforcements of our defence will require major increases in investment.
I welcome that Germany and other Allies have already announced they are stepping up.
And I encourage all Allies to spend a minimum of 2% of GDP on defence.
We must do more.
So we must also invest more.
To protect peace and freedom.
And uphold our values, at this critical time.
With that, I am ready to take your questions. See First ? regarding China
Dmytro Shkurko (National News Agency of Ukraine): Secretary General, NATO has a glorious story of supporting some countries and preventing bloodshed, for example, like it happened in Sarajevo, in Kosovo and so on. What is the threshold for NATO when the Russian killings will, you know, will overcome that threshold to NATO for direct involvement? And a short follow up because of that, if you follow the Russian rhetorics they are not going to stop purely in Ukraine so the question is, isn’t it the right time for NATO to intervene, to defeat and to [inaudible] Putin’s military machine while it’s still in Ukraine while waiting that the Russian bombs will be falling to the European capitals? Thank you….
Bulgaria Human Rights Abuses from U.S. State Dept.
BULGARIA 2019 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Bulgaria is a constitutional republic governed by a freely elected unicameral National Assembly. A coalition government headed by a prime minister leads the country. National Assembly elections were held in 2017, and the Central Election Commission did not report any major election irregularities. International observers considered the National Assembly elections and the 2016 presidential election generally free and fair but noted some deficiencies.
The Ministry of Interior is responsible for law enforcement, migration, and border enforcement. The State Agency for National Security, which reports to the Prime Minister’s Office, is responsible for investigating corruption and organized crime, among other responsibilities. The army is responsible for external security but also can assist with border security. The National Protective Service is responsible for the security of dignitaries and answers to the president. Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the security forces.
Significant human rights issues included: problems with the independence of the judiciary; restrictions on free expression and the press, including violence and threats of violence against journalists, censorship, and corporate and political pressure on media; acts of corruption; crimes involving violence or threats of violence against Roma; and crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons.
Authorities took steps to prosecute and punish officials who committed human rights abuses, but government actions were insufficient, and impunity was a problem.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
a. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings
There were no reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance
BULGARIA 2 There were no reports of disappearances by or on behalf of government authorities.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The constitution and law prohibit such practices, but there were reports of government officials employing degrading treatment. A 2017 analysis by the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Bulgarian Helsinki Committee indicated that more than 40 percent of the jail population complained of physical injuries and illegal arrests, while 16 percent alleged forced interrogations. The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee continued to criticize the Interior Ministry for not collecting or tracking information on police brutality and for lacking an efficient mechanism for investigating and punishing offending officials. According to the NGO, physical abuse of detainees by police was widespread and disproportionately affected Romani suspects.
In the report published on July 11 following its visit in December 2018, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) found there were no “recent and credible allegations of physical ill-treatment of detained foreign nationals by border police officers” but noted allegations of verbal abuse of migrants held in the Busmantsi immigration detention facility while they were in border police custody.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions
The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee reported that prison conditions in many detention facilities remained “inhuman and degrading.” There were reports of overcrowding in some facilities, interprisoner violence, prison staff corruption, and inadequate sanitary, living, and medical facilities. The CPT characterized conditions in border police detention facilities as “acceptable for the maximum period of 24 hours of custody.”
Physical Conditions: Overall prison conditions remained poor. Both the ombudsman and the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee urged authorities to develop an overall detention facility development program. In August the ombudsman identified “extremely bad physical conditions” in the Keramichna Fabrika facility, including falling plaster from walls and ceilings, exposed electrical outlets and power cables, ceiling cracks, and unsanitary conditions, and recommended its immediate closure.
The government ombudsman reported cases of police and prison authorities applying excessive force and abusing detainees and prisoners in detention centers and in the prison in Sofia, and a lack of effective administrative response to such abuses. In a report to the justice minister, the ombudsman alleged that the prison administration failed to enforce the regulations and continuously tolerated the unnecessary use of handcuffs, despite the ombudsman’s recommendation against the practice in 2016-17…….
Human rights activists accused the prison administration of confiscating applications for membership in the Bulgarian Prisoner Association, an NGO founded by inmates to advocate for prisoner rights, and of punishing and physically abusing its members. In April and May, Bulgarian Prisoner Association leader Jock Palfreeman went on a 33-day hunger strike in response to prison authorities’ retaliation against him for exposing corruption in the country’s prison system and the abuse of inmates. According to Palfreeman’s lawyer, his client had been fired from his prison job, banned from receiving visitors, and threatened and intimidated by prison guards.
Administration: Authorities investigated allegations of mistreatment. According to the CPT, the prison system suffered serious corruption and staffing issues, particularly with regard to health-care personnel. Contrary to law, regulations allow night searches of sleeping quarters for unapproved possessions, and the ombudsman criticized the prison administration for conducting such searches. The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee reported that medical personnel did not report all cases of violence against prisoners by custodial staff to the prosecution service.
Independent Monitoring: The government permitted monitoring of prisons by independent nongovernmental observers. According to the concluding observations of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Committee against Torture’s sixth periodic report (issued in 2017), the country’s Office of Ombudsman was not sufficiently equipped to fulfill its mandate as national preventive mechanism under the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture.
Improvements: As of October the government opened new detention facilities in Sliven and Stara Zagora and refurbished sections of the prison facilities in Pazardjik, Bobov Dol, Stara Zagora, Veliko Turnovo, and Sofia. The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee also noted that authorities opened a new facility at Vratsa prison for juvenile offenders.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention
Although the constitution and law prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, there were reports that police at times abused their arrest and detention authority. The law provides for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of his or her arrest or detention in court, and the government generally observed these requirements. For the Full Report, Visit State Dept.