The Bulgarian journalists were congratulated on the World Press Freedom Day, May 3, in advance. A bomb set in front of the apartment of an investigating journalist destroyed his home, blew away the entrance doors of the four apartments at the landing and knocked out the two elevators in the building. Luckily, it did not claim human life.

The journalist Vasil Ivanov from Nova TV works on cases of organized crime, corruption and abuse of power. His investigations entailed trials and dismissals. In his words, he received threats for nearly every reportage.

We live in turbulent times. Dynamically and catastrophically taboos, walls and borders drop down. Streams of information overwhelm us from all sides. We are becoming resistant to breaking news. We get used to the fact that somewhere people get killed, innocent people die, how many journalists died in the hot spots of the planet or at the hands of hired assassins. In late January 2006, the International Federation of Journalists published an information that 150 journalists were killed around the world in 2005. Less than 10% of these killings were investigated. A growing number of governments are trying to hinder the work of the media by restrictive press laws, physical violence or threats, even by arbitrary arrests.

The report of Reporters without Frontiers, made in connection with the forthcoming World Press Freedom Day, says 2005 was the deadliest year for journalists in the last decade, and since the beginning of this year 19 professionals have been killed and 120 media specialists imprisoned. As concerns our region, the head of the European section of Reporters without Frontiers, Annabelle Akrey said for Darik Radio that the situation with the freedom of speech in Eastern Europe was much worse than in Western Europe. The report of the organization in end-2005 noted that the EU acceding states were not doing very well. The document specified that despite efforts, the freedom of speech is not firmly established in Bulgaria (48th on the list), in Croatia (56th) and in Romania (70th of a total of 167 countries surveyed). In 2004 Bulgaria occupied the 36th position. The USA marks a drop by 20 points. In an interview for a Bulgarian newspaper, European Parliament rapporteur for Bulgaria Geoffrey Van Orden noted that bombing attacks are not typical of our country alone, but what needs immediate reaction is the fact that in our country there are people who are against the membership in EU and they would do anything to draw Bulgaria back.

Some years back, reading about Yakuza doing something for orphaned children, a female friend of mine exclaimed: “Look at the Japanese, even their mafia is noble.” Is it accidental that in the bombing attack of Vasil Ivanov’s home on the night of April 5 did not perish 20 quietly sleeping people? There is no point thinking along these lines. The aim surely excludes reasoning about the means. This is a war. An unconventional war fought with unconventional weapons.

The freedom of speech is a part of democracy, its requisite instrument, working wholly for the benefit of society. Journalism is a great power of the open society, a way of control, a way of exercising our right to know, in order to exercise successfully our right to understand. The Bulgarian journalists regard their profession as consciousness and honor. They were not shut up by the acid spills, the attempts to bring them to court, even less by bribing them. This in itself is a value we bear as a state and society.

A topic for reflection: who profits and what from the postponement of Bulgaria’s membership in EU? Dangerous parasites grow in the dark and humid environment, which are later enviably resistant in any environment. Always at the expense of useful cultures.