How many Times were Diplomatic Relations between Russia and Bulgaria Severed
If we look at history, there are not many cases in which relations between Bulgaria and Russia at the state level were as bad as they are at the moment.
A Hidden Fragment of Bulgaria's History
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Photo by Yuliana Nikolova (Sofia Photo Agency)
By Bogdana Lazarova, Nikolay Hristov from Darik News*
July 27, 1955 is a date that was never mentioned in the Bulgarian history books and textbooks. This is the date when two Bulgarian fighters shot down an Israeli passenger airplane of the El Al Airlines on Bulgarian land.
In the early hours of the July morning the plane entered the Bulgaria air territory by mistake somewhere around the town of Tran and nearly 20 minutes flew over the country, trying to reach its final destination -- Tel Aviv. Minutes after it entered Bulgaria, two military fighters took off from the military airport Dobroslavtsi near Sofia, caught up the Israeli aircraft and shot it down. All 58 passengers on board died.
An international scandal broke out: Bulgaria formed a parliamentary commission led by the country's chief prosecutor and Israel sued teh country in the International Court of Justice in Hague. The scandal procrastinated for nine long years, until finally the court ruled that Bulgaria and Israel negotiate on what compensations to be paid to the families of the killed passengers.
For two days the Bulgarian authorities kept silent on the case, but the information agencies in Belgrade, Athens, Washington and Berlin had already spread the news. Bulgaria immediately apologized to Israel and established a commission to investigate the case. Israel did the same, but when members from the Israeli commission came to Bulgaria to investigate, the authorities let only three of them to enter the country after they made sure all remains and evidences of the crash were removed from the spot.
According to the report the Bulgaria commission issued afterwards, the plane had no reason to change its direction as it was fully equipped with all the needed navigation devices. After flying over Bulgaria for around 40 kilometres, the plane was overtaken by two Bulgarian fighters, who signalled with all international signals to follow them, but the plane did not obey and continued its way. Then the Bulgarian aircrafts started shooting, the plane caught fire and crashed near the town of Petrich, killing 51 passengers and the seven crewmembers. Bulgaria admitted it acted too hastily and the fighter pilots did not take all needed measures to force the Israeli aircraft to land on some of the airports.
The report of the Israeli commission on the other hand stated that their plane deviated because of strong winds, which the pilot and the co-pilot did not notice, and that pushed the plane in the wrong direction. The report also stated that the two Bulgarian fighters started shooting at the aircraft without any warning whatsoever on any of the radio frequencies fixed by the international organization for civil aviation.
Upon receiving the Israeli report, the head of the Bulgarian commission said he could not reach any conclusion, because the Bulgarian military authorities denied him any access to the two pilots for interrogation.
On August 4, 1955 the killed passengers were buried and in September Israel launched legal actions against Bulgaria. Israel, together with Germany, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, France, Canada, USA and the South African Union demanded a total of USD 26,120.239 compensations for their citizens, who were on board of the crashed plane. Then Karlo Lukanov, the foreign minister by that time, proposed that Bulgaria refuses to pay the compensations. After nine years of court hearings, In 1964 the International Court ruled that Bulgaria and Israel should negotiate between themselves on the compensations. So at the end Bulgaria paid only around USD 300,000, a minimal price for the lives of 58 people.
Not only that, but with this case Bulgaria made a precedent in world history and 28 years later came the next one, when a South Korean Boing KAL007, carrying 296 passengers on board was shot down by a Russian missile over Sakhalin Island. It was followed by two other similar cases.
The question with the military forces' guilt in this cases remains unanswered.
*Translated by Lora Petrova, Sofia News Agency
July 27, 1955 is a date that was never mentioned in the Bulgarian history books and textbooks. This is the date when two Bulgarian fighters shot down an Israeli passenger airplane of the El Al Airlines on Bulgarian land.
In the early hours of the July morning the plane entered the Bulgaria air territory by mistake somewhere around the town of Tran and nearly 20 minutes flew over the country, trying to reach its final destination -- Tel Aviv. Minutes after it entered Bulgaria, two military fighters took off from the military airport Dobroslavtsi near Sofia, caught up the Israeli aircraft and shot it down. All 58 passengers on board died.
An international scandal broke out: Bulgaria formed a parliamentary commission led by the country's chief prosecutor and Israel sued teh country in the International Court of Justice in Hague. The scandal procrastinated for nine long years, until finally the court ruled that Bulgaria and Israel negotiate on what compensations to be paid to the families of the killed passengers.
For two days the Bulgarian authorities kept silent on the case, but the information agencies in Belgrade, Athens, Washington and Berlin had already spread the news. Bulgaria immediately apologized to Israel and established a commission to investigate the case. Israel did the same, but when members from the Israeli commission came to Bulgaria to investigate, the authorities let only three of them to enter the country after they made sure all remains and evidences of the crash were removed from the spot.
According to the report the Bulgaria commission issued afterwards, the plane had no reason to change its direction as it was fully equipped with all the needed navigation devices. After flying over Bulgaria for around 40 kilometres, the plane was overtaken by two Bulgarian fighters, who signalled with all international signals to follow them, but the plane did not obey and continued its way. Then the Bulgarian aircrafts started shooting, the plane caught fire and crashed near the town of Petrich, killing 51 passengers and the seven crewmembers. Bulgaria admitted it acted too hastily and the fighter pilots did not take all needed measures to force the Israeli aircraft to land on some of the airports.
The report of the Israeli commission on the other hand stated that their plane deviated because of strong winds, which the pilot and the co-pilot did not notice, and that pushed the plane in the wrong direction. The report also stated that the two Bulgarian fighters started shooting at the aircraft without any warning whatsoever on any of the radio frequencies fixed by the international organization for civil aviation.
Upon receiving the Israeli report, the head of the Bulgarian commission said he could not reach any conclusion, because the Bulgarian military authorities denied him any access to the two pilots for interrogation.
On August 4, 1955 the killed passengers were buried and in September Israel launched legal actions against Bulgaria. Israel, together with Germany, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, France, Canada, USA and the South African Union demanded a total of USD 26,120.239 compensations for their citizens, who were on board of the crashed plane. Then Karlo Lukanov, the foreign minister by that time, proposed that Bulgaria refuses to pay the compensations. After nine years of court hearings, In 1964 the International Court ruled that Bulgaria and Israel should negotiate between themselves on the compensations. So at the end Bulgaria paid only around USD 300,000, a minimal price for the lives of 58 people.
Not only that, but with this case Bulgaria made a precedent in world history and 28 years later came the next one, when a South Korean Boing KAL007, carrying 296 passengers on board was shot down by a Russian missile over Sakhalin Island. It was followed by two other similar cases.
The question with the military forces' guilt in this cases remains unanswered.
*Translated by Lora Petrova, Sofia News Agency
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