Attempt to reverse Bulgarian position on Srebrenica massacre causes pre-election scandal

3 months ago 22

The vote on the UN resolution on the Srebrenica massacre in July 1995 has led to unexpected pre-election tensions in Bulgaria, with the GERB party of former prime minister Boyko Borisov (EPP) accused of adopting a pro-Russian position in the final days of the pre-election campaign.

On Wednesday, Bulgarian media leaked documents proving that caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev tried to change Bulgaria’s position on the Srebrenica massacre at the last moment.

According to the documents, Glavchev has asked Lachezara Stoeva, Bulgaria’s permanent representative to the UN, not to support the UN General Assembly resolution declaring 11 July “International Day in Memory of the Genocide in Srebrenica”.

For her part, Stoeva refused to comply with the prime minister’s request, and the country supported the resolution, which Sofia co-initiated.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has already expressed his disappointment with Bulgaria’s position, saying he had expected Sofia to refrain.

On Thursday, the conservative GERB party issued a statement denying that its leader, Borisov, had pressured Glavchev to change the country’s position.

“GERB does not interfere in the work of the government and has nothing to do with the Bulgarian position on the UN resolution on Srebrenica,” commented former foreign minister Daniel Mitov, a candidate for deputy from GERB.

Borissov maintained excellent relations with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić when he headed the government in Sofia until 2021.

The diplomatic affair was used by the pro-European coalition “We continue the change – Democratic Bulgaria” (PP-DB), which is the main competitor of GERB.

The pro-European coalition accused Borissov and the caretaker government of serving Russian interests.

“The acting prime minister, who is unfailingly carrying out the instructions of Borisov and (the co-chairman of the Turkish minority party DPS, Delyan) Peevski, has no mandate to change the foreign policy direction of Bulgaria and to support the pro-Russian foreign policy at the UN,” the PP-DB stated.

“Belgrade’s position is supported by both Russia, as well as from countries with a pro-Kremlin foreign policy such as China, Cuba, Belarus, Nicaragua, Syria, etc. Not a single country in the EU voted against the resolution,” added PP-DB.

The government has confirmed the authenticity of the leaked documents, which were first published by the investigative website Bird.bg, their positions were “only part of the decision-making process and they do not represent its entirety”.

“The leaking of official correspondence and its indiscriminate distribution in the public space can only be characterised as an element of a hybrid attack,” commented the official government.

On May 22, the news site Dnevnik, a partner of Euractiv, reported that Vučić had several conversations with Bulgarian politicians at every level to block Sofia’s support for the resolution.

The publication adds that Vučić’s pressure has caused dissatisfaction among some Bulgarian diplomats because the country is among the initiators of the document and withdrawing support would seem very unusual.

(Krassen Nikolov | Euractiv.bg)