Simeon: Do Not Bribe Officials Standartnews - 2003/2/12
Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha called on all Bulgarians to take a proactive stance against corruption, summed up as "I don't corrupt". An address by the prime minister was read out by his Chef de Cabinet Radi Naidenov at the opening on Tuesday of the Fifth Socio-Political Forum on the Fight against Corruption at the Boyana Residence.
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha said public intolerance against corruption should be built "because it is very important for a politician or a civil servant to have high moral standards, but it is just as important for every Bulgarian citizen to refuse to tolerate corruption relations". Only then will measures taken at the government level be even more productive.
Justice Minister Anton Stankov said the report of Coalition 2000, the forum's organizer, outlined positive trends which may lay the groundwork for a lasting trend in Bulgarian society towards overcoming corruption. Stankov said such a report had a very positive role to play for Bulgaria's image in Europe. The Coalition 2000 report said corruption in Bulgaria is not increasing.