BULGARIA: MEDIA AND POLITICIANS FAN ANTI-ROMA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SOFIA 001504

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KTIA BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIA: MEDIA AND POLITICIANS FAN ANTI-ROMA
SENTIMENT

REF: SOFIA 01134


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The emergence of the extreme nationalist
party Ataka has paralleled a surge in anti-Roma reporting that
is adding to a troubling increase in ethnic tension. Ataka won
a surprisingly high nine percent of the national vote in June
and continues to fan negative attitudes towards Roma and other
minorities. The group's success has coincided with a series of
sometimes violent clashes involving Roma and ethnic Bulgarians.
Sensational media coverage and inflammatory comments by some
mainstream politicians have further exacerbated the perception
of growing intolerance. END SUMMARY
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EXTREME NATIONALIST GROUP RISES ON BACKS OF ROMA, TURKS
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2. (U) The emergence of the extreme nationalist group Ataka
represents a new phenomenon in Bulgarian politics, fueled in
part by anti-Roma rhetoric. Ataka won 8.9 percent of the vote
in June and became the fourth-largest political party in the
new parliament. According to analysts, Ataka capitalized on
popular discontent over crime involving Roma and popular
perception that Roma receive more state "handouts" than other
groups. Ataka's leader, journalist Volen Siderov, called for
voters "to take a stand against the occupation of our country"
by Turkish and Roma minorities and "return Bulgaria to the
Bulgarians." Ataka has also successfully exploited recent
tensions between ethnic Bulgarians and Roma in Sofia, where
Bulgarians staged protests after a university professor was
killed in a race-related brawl.

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AS ATAKA TURNS UP THE HEAT, ETHNIC TENSIONS BOIL OVER
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3. (U) Although Ataka's entry into Parliament was condemned by
all major political parties, its sudden success coincides with
more frequent expressions of ultra-nationalistic sentiment.
Inflammatory rhetoric against and physical confrontations with
Roma have become more commonplace over the past several months.
A disagreement between a farmer and his Roma employee over
wages led to a melee in Kozloduy, a town in northwest Bulgaria,
on July 28 that left ten people hospitalized.

4.(U) On August 1 in a neighboring district, inflammatory anti-
Roma leaflets were distributed, most likely as a result of
another large brawl that took place in Pleven two days before.
Bulgarian residents of the Storgozia area in Pleven have asked
the municipality to evict the Roma residents from the building
in which the fight took place. Another recent incident took
place in Elin Pelin, where an argument over payment led to a
violent confrontation between ethnic Bulgarians and members of
the Roma community. Several people were injured in the fight.


5. (U) Recent clashes between Roma and Bulgarians led members
of Ataka and more moderate nationalists from the ethnic-
Macedonian party VMRO to draft two separate laws providing for
the creation of "self-defense groups" designed to take punitive
action against "Roma criminals." The MPs involved explain that
the goal of the legislation is to find and punish "Roma
criminals who are terrorizing the population but are beyond the
reach of law enforcement and the judiciary." It is unlikely
the laws will pass, but the fact that such vigilante groups are
being proposed is cause for concern.


6. (U) Euroroma, the only Roma party that ran on its own in the
June elections, attributes the rise in ethnic tension to
Ataka's anti-Roma campaign, and has expressed concern that
local media are fueling a negative image of the Roma minority.
Party leaders argue that this incites ethnic conflict and
creates a vicious cycle in which Roma are unjustly blamed for
every confrontation. Indeed, the press has given unduly
prominent coverage to clashes involving ethnic Bulgarians and
Roma, often including sensational front-page headlines implying
that ethnic Bulgarians are under siege. The mainstream media
continue to perpetuate negative stereotypes of the Roma
community by consistently identifying accused Roma criminals by
their ethnicity. Following recent flooding throughout
Bulgaria, major dailies also reported prominently on
allegations that Roma were stealing sand intended for sandbags,
and that displaced Roma had trashed a public school where they
were temporarily housed. There has been little coverage of the
fact that Roma have been disproportionately affected by the
flooding.


7. (U) Responding to the upsurge in tensions, President
Purvanov on August 14 strongly criticized "the chauvinistic
overtones of rhetoric in the current parliament." In another
positive development, on July 27 the European Roma Rights
Center, an international public interest law organization, won
an antidiscrimination case against a Bulgarian restaurant that
had denied services to Romani customers. The decision is based
on a provision of Bulgaria's Protection Against Discrimination
Act, a comprehensive anti-discrimination law adopted in
December 2003. In the central Bulgarian town of Kazanlak, the
municipal government decided August 12 to tear down the wall
that for 25 years has separated the Roma ghetto from the rest
of the community.

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ROMA IN POLITICS
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8. (U) The majority of Bulgaria's Roma (approximately 1
million, according to Roma leaders) live in socio-economically
depressed areas, and over one-third rely on government
subsidies as their only source of income. According to
official statistics, nearly ten percent of Bulgarian Roma have
never attended school, and less than one percent have completed
higher education. In comparison, nearly all ethnic Bulgarians
have some formal education, and over twenty percent complete
higher education. The unemployment rate within the Roma
community is also extremely high -- around sixty-five percent
on average, but as high as ninety percent in some regions. The
unemployment rate for Bulgaria overall is around twelve
percent.


9. (U) There are more than 650,000 self-identified Roma voters
registered in Bulgaria, and Roma votes have often been
manipulated in various ways by mainstream political parties.
Ahead of the June 25 general elections, all major political
parties opted for a Roma partner. As in the previous elections
the Roma party led by MP Toma Tomov signed an agreement with
the Socialist-led Coalition for Bulgaria. The chairman of the
predominantly ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms
(MRF),Ahmed Dogan, also joined the fierce battle for Roma
votes. In a populist effort to secure votes, Dogan promised to
restore electricity to the Stolipinovo ghetto in Plovdiv, which
was suspended several years ago because Roma inhabitants had
not paid their bills.

10. (U) Euroroma chose the 27-year-old cross-dressing pop
singer Aziz as the party's honorary chairman and parliamentary
candidate. The party's leader, Tsvetelin Kunchev, a former MP,
had been previously sentenced to prison for battery and
extortion, but was pardoned by the Vice President a few days
before the election campaign started. Despite its colorful
campaign, Euroroma gathered only 1.25 percent of the vote,
falling shy of the 4 percent needed to enter Parliament. Of
the other three ethnic Roma candidates, only Tomov won, running
on the ticket of the Socialist coalition.

11. (SBU) The predominantly ethnic Turkish MRF, however,
nearly doubled the percentage of votes it received in the June
2005 elections as compared to the 2001 elections. Much of this
increase is attributed to Roma voters. There have been
widespread and credible allegations of voter fraud surrounding
the MRF's efforts to mobilize the Roma vote. The Roma
community's participation in voter fraud in support of the
Turkish party both dilutes its own political voice and
contributes to the hostility in the majority community towards
Roma.


12. (SBU) COMMENT: In a country where many are finding it
difficult to cope with the economic challenges of transition,
Roma remain an easy target for demagogic politicians and
frustrated members of the majority community. Despite the
designation of 2005 as the beginning of the "Decade of Roma
Inclusion" and the government of Bulgaria's integration plan,
little is being done to address the serious social problems
represented by the Roma. They are treated as second-class
citizens at best. Discrimination is pervasive, and the Roma
community's fragmented nature further complicates its
situation. In response to the recent upsurge in negative press
reporting and inflammatory comments by politicians, the Embassy
will be pushing its political and media contacts to condemn
racist rhetoric and other efforts to exploit anti-minority
sentiments. END COMMENT.
LEVINE