- Title: BULGARIA: Israel happy with Bulgarian response to Burgas attack.
- Date: 23rd July 2012
- Summary: SOFIA, BULGARIA (JULY 23, 2012) (REUTERS) POLICE FORCES OUTSIDE BULGARIAN MINISTRY OF ECONOMY, ENERGY AND TOURISM SIGN READING "MINISTRY OF ECONOMY, ENERGY AND TOURISM" JOURNALISTS WAITING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Bulgarian) BULGARIAN MINISTER OF ECONOMY, ENERGY AND TOURISM, DELYAN DOBREV, SAYING: "I checked the statistics a few minutes ago. In the last four days
- Embargoed: 7th August 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Bulgaria
- Country: Bulgaria
- Topics: Crime,International Relations,Economy,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVADNOOSFYEPHMX4EVJBCVOCL02F
- Story Text: The Bulgarian government has shown "responsibility, maturity and professionalism" in dealing with suicide attack in Burgas which killed 6 people, according to the visiting Israeli minister for tourism.
Israel's tourism minister, Stas Misezhnikov, on Monday (July 23) said he was satisfied with the Bulgarian government's reaction to a suicide attack in Burgas on Thursday (July 19), in which six people were killed.
The Israeli minister was leading a delegation of senior tourism professionals on a trip to Sofia to maintain the two countries' relationship and tourism interests, according to a written statement from his office.
Speaking to a news conference after a meeting between the two counterparts, Bulgarian Minister for Economy, Energy and Tourism Deylan Dobrev told reporters that Israeli flights into his country remained the same as before the attack.
"I checked the statistics minutes ago, in the last four days we have 32 charter flights from Israel to Bulgaria, so Israeli tourists continue to come," he said.
Misezhnikov echoed Dobrev's sentiment, praising Sofia's handling of the attack and its aftermath.
"I think that the Bulgarian government has shown responsibility, maturity and professionalism in dealing with this terrorist attack," he added.
Reflecting on the recent shootings in Denver, Colorado, and the one year anniversary of the twin attacks in Norway that killed 77 people, Misezhnikov said people should not have to live in fear.
"I have said that the thing that happened here, could happen anywhere in the world. It has happened in Israel. It has happened in India. It has happened in Norway, and now it happened in Denver in the United States. So what?" he said.
"Does this mean we will cease to travel? Will we stop going to movie theatres? Will we stop to go on vacations like the children in Norway? We have to cooperate and raise security measures, and to try and secure the vacations and life of each and every one of us. And this is what we intend to do with the government of Bulgaria," Misezhnikov added.
According to the Israeli statement, during the first half of 2012, there was an 11% increase in tourists from Bulgaria to Israel as compared to the same time last year.
According to data from the Bulgarian Ministry of Tourism, nearly 139,000 Israelis visited Bulgaria in 2011, while 8,000 Bulgarian tourists went the other way.
On Friday (July 20) Bulgaria's interior minister announced that the man who blew up a bus carrying Israeli tourists at a Bulgarian airport, killing himself and six others, was a foreign national, adding that the government is establishing further details with the help of foreign intelligence services.
Israel has accused Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants of carrying out Thursday's attack at Burgas airport; a popular gateway for tourists visiting Bulgaria's Black Sea coast.
Iran has denied having any involvement.
Investigators said they managed to obtain DNA samples from the fingers of the bomber and were checking databases in an attempt to identify him.
The Israeli tourists had arrived in Bulgaria on a charter flight from Israel and were in a bus in the airport car park when the blast tore through the vehicle.
Closed-circuit video showed the bomber wore Bermuda shorts, a blue T-shirt and cap, blending in with other tourists as he roamed the airport for an hour before blowing up the bus.
During his visit Misezhnikov is expected to meet with Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and other officials and to hold a memorial ceremony at the site of the Burgas attack.
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