VZCZCXRO5277
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSF #1329 3300953
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 260953Z NOV 07 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY SOFIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4533
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SOFIA 001329 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, IWI, PRM, EUR/PGI, EUR/NCE 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO USAID 
DOJ FOR OPDAT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF PGOV BU
SUBJECT:  MOVE TO LEGALIZE PROSTITUTION THWARTED 
 
REF: SOFIA 00259 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY:  Bulgarian NGOs and their government allies, with 
strong Embassy and USG support, succeeded in defeating legislation 
backed by business interests and the National Tourism Board to 
legalize prostitution.  This marks a victory in our anti-TIP effort. 
 We will keep our guard up as proponents of legalization are likely 
to try again given the profits at stake.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (U) Bulgaria has been a source country for human trafficking. 
EU accession, a growing economy, and the boom in tourism have 
contributed to Bulgaria also increasingly becoming a destination 
country for trafficking in persons, particularly for sexual 
exploitation. Prostitution is not prohibited by the country's law, 
but is also not legally regulated.  In February 2007, an interagency 
working group led by Deputy Interior Minister Kamen Penkov began 
drafting legislation to regulate prostitution.  The National Tourism 
Board, the strongest proponent of the effort, argued that the 
increase in unregulated prostitutes in the streets scared away 
tourists and that prostitutes should work in designated places and 
hotels.  The drafting group kept a low profile, occasionally leaking 
statements highlighting the health benefits for the prostitutes and 
the tax revenues for the state budget. 
 
¶3.  (U) The Embassy mobilized against this draft legislation, 
spurring NGO's and individual members of Parliament and Ministry 
officials by warning that legalization would undermine GOB 
anti-trafficking efforts and give organized crime figures another 
way to legalize their activities.  To raise the volume of public 
debate on the issue, the Embassy and Senior Coordinator for Public 
Outreach G-TIP Eleanor Gaetan supported an Anti-Trafficking 
conference on October 5 organized by former Foreign Minister 
Nadezhda Mihailova and supported by our NGO allies.  The Ambassador 
was the first high level guest to confirm attendance at this event, 
encouraging others to attend.  The press widely (and mostly 
positively) reported his remarks emphasizing the negative 
consequences of legalizing prostitution.  Ms. Gaetan addressed the 
draft legislation more directly as a subject matter expert and 
outlined how legalized prostitution can harm women.  Some senior GOB 
opponents of legalization also attended the conference and spoke 
out, including Prosecutor General Boris Velchev and, for the first 
time in public, Interior Minister Roumen Petkov. 
 
¶4.  (U) On October 18,EUR DAS Graffy spoke at an EU Anti-trafficking 
Day press conference in Sofia.  Following DAS Graffy's spirited 
comments, Interior Minister Petkov expressed his personal opinion 
that legalizing prostitution "would be a big mistake."  Petkov's 
statement that day effectively ended the efforts, initiated within 
his ministry, to draft legislation for legalization. 
 
¶5.  (U) COMMENT:  Bulgarian anti-trafficking advocates have reached 
consensus against legalizing prostitution and, with post's support, 
they have won over key GOB officials.  We have won this battle, but 
the issue could resurface.  There is too much money at stake, and 
too many vested interests for legalized prostitution to fade away 
completely.  Our guard is up, as is that by an energized NGO 
community and anti-trafficking activists.  We will bear down in 
reinforcing the message in public and private that Bulgaria has made 
significant progress in combating trafficking, and can do still 
more.  END COMMENT. 
BEYRLE