BULGARIA RESPONDS POSITIVELY ON GUANTANAMO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SOFIA 000691

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/3/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIA RESPONDS POSITIVELY ON GUANTANAMO

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Susan Sutton for reasons 1.4 (b)/(d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of
Interior Tsvetan Tsvetanov told Special Envoy Dan Fried on
December 3, 2009 that the Government of Bulgaria would
likely accept one or two Guantanamo detainees, though he
did not make an absolute commitment. Fried passed the
files of nine detainees for Bulgaria's consideration and
extended an invitation for Bulgarian experts to travel to
Guantanamo to interview the detainees. Tsvetanov said he
would review the files and return a formal response. He
noted that he did not anticipate any resistance from within
the ruling party, but he was concerned about political
attacks from outside. In an effort to prevent this, he
asked Fried to engage with the Presidency and the leaders
of three key political parties to explain U.S. policy on
Guantanamo and to clearly state what we are asking of our
European partners. In subsequent separate meetings with
Fried, President Parvanov's Chief of Staff Nikola Kolev
pledged to help the government move forward to a positive
conclusion, and the leadership of the allied coalition
parties and opposition socialist party expressed support for
the Obama administration's policies on Guantanamo and noted
an inclination to assist the United States while not firmly
extending support to the resettlement of detainees in
Bulgaria. Only the ethnically-Turkish party, Movement for
Rights and Freedom, categorically promised to support the
government on a decision to resettle detainees. END SUMMARY.

GOVERNMENT WILLING TO MOVE FORWARD


2. (C) Tsvetanov predicted Bulgaria would be able to accept
one detainee; two detainees is possible, he said, but
"optimistic." He suggested that in meetings with other party
officials, Fried propose "one to three" detainees, noting
that in his meetings with them most focused on it being only
one detainee.


3. (C) Tsvetanov said he is in contact with the leaders of
the other significant political parties and believes his
government can move forward in discussions about Guantanamo
without risking political attack. He has received assurances
from the Socialist Party, the ethnically-Turkish party, the
center-right Blue Coalition and the ultra-nationalist Ataka
party that the Guantanamo issue would not be used to score
political points. He remained concerned, however, about the
Law, Order and Justice Party, because its leader Yane Yanev
is highly "unpredictable." Tsvetanov also expressed concern
about the position of President Parvanov, since he and the
Prime Minister have recently sparred publicly over the record
of the previous government. Tsvetanov greatly appreciated
Fried's visit and emphasized that his face-to-face meetings
with other parties would reduce the risk of politicization of
the issue.


4. (C) Tsvetanov said his government was naturally inclined
to help the United States on this issue, and hoped that in
the future, the United States could continue to assist
Bulgaria in areas of specific concern, noting specifically
Visa Waiver and deepened law enforcement cooperation. He
also asked for U.S. financial assistance to defray some of
the resettlement costs, which Fried said is a possibility
although it would only be a symbolic amount in the
neighborhood of $50,000-$80,000 per detainee.

OTHER PARTIES INCLINED TO SUPPORT


5. (C) The President's Chief of Staff, Nikola Kolev, said
that prospects for Bulgaria accepting a detainee are
"positive." He noted that the final decision rests with the
government, but he said the President and Prime Minister
would consult on the issue and that he would help "push this
through." Ex-Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, the leader of
the Socialist Party, said he was inclined to support
Bulgaria's acceptance of a detainee or two, but said he could
not speak for his entire party. Whether his party decides to
formally support or not, he pledged that the issue would not
be used to attack the government. Likewise, the Co-Chairs of
the center-right Blue Coalition expressed support for the
closure of Guantanamo and said that as a partner it was
natural for Bulgaria to assist the U.S. in this effort, but
they could not unconditionally endorse accepting detainees
until they had more information from the government on the
specific detainees and the plans for resettlement. Co-chair
Ivan Kostov (DSB) stated that the way forward not include
formal parliamentary consultation on the issue and that the
government, per its exclusive mandate, move forward with the
decision based on its review of the pertinent information.
Younal Loutfi, the Deputy Chairman of the ethnically-Turkish
Movement for Rights and Freedom, immediately gave his party's
full support for resettlement of detainees.


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6. (C) COMMENT: The Embassy will re-engage with Tsvetanov
once he has had a chance to review the files of the nine
detainees. Prospects for Bulgaria accepting at least one
detainee look good, though the government must perform a
delicate balancing act to keep all other parties in check. A
nasty spat on an unrelated issue between any of the
personalities at the top could still derail progress. A
public leak of the government's plans could also have
unpredictable consequences. Continued contact from
Washington will provide the government with political cover
and help maintain the forward momentum.
SUTTON