400. Information Memorandum From the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research (Kamman) to Acting Secretary of State Whitehead1
SUBJECT
- Bulgaria: Trying To Change Its Image
Reverberations of Gorbachev’s perestroika and glasnost are being felt in Bulgaria, as in the rest of the bloc. Sofia has recognized the need for economic change and its inability to achieve it in isolation from the [Page 1305] West. This in turn has spawned increased sensitivity to international opinion and efforts to better Bulgaria’s public image.
Tarnishing the country’s reputation are a number of factors:
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- Nationality policies: Sofia has for years forced assimilation on its minorities, denying their existence and claiming that the country’s population is ethnically homogenous.
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- Repression of religion and dissent: Tolerance of dissent and religious practice is conditioned by regime self-interest. As long as they see no political threat, the authorities are prepared to exercise control more subtly in order to minimize outside criticism.
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- Arms sales, narcotics and terrorism: Bulgaria’s links with international terrorism, including past sales of arms which have reached terrorists, continue to cloud its reputation, despite regime efforts to change public perceptions. The Sofia government’s apparent willingness to cooperate in fighting terrorism and also narcotics is always with an eye to preserving its own interests.
Domestic reforms were precipitated by the economic stagnation and Soviet criticism of Bulgarian performance. The pace and scope of the regime’s initial approach apparently aroused Soviet concern: following a sudden visit to Moscow Zhivkov publicly reaffirmed the Party’s leading role in society and noted the need for a more measured reform pace to avoid confusion. Nevertheless, the major stumbling block for reforms still seems to be domestic inertia and confusion rather than pace, method, or Moscow’s criticism.
Bulgaria has expanded its international contacts recently, probably more for economic than political reasons.
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- It has sought support for its admission to GATT, particularly from some of the smaller European countries perceived as more sympathetic.
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- Promotion of cultural and economic relations with Bonn is encouraging improved political ties with the FRG.
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- Relations with Greece have warmed dramatically in the past year.
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- Bulgaria joined in the show of Balkan cooperation at the 24–26 February conference of Balkan foreign ministers, the highest-level gathering of the six Balkan states since World War II.
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- Sofia’s dispute with Ankara over the ethnic Turk issue led to discussions culminating in the Bulgarian-Turkish protocol on the “promotion of good-neighborliness, friendship, and cooperation” signed on the eve of the Balkan Conference in Belgrade. This has not been followed by any change in Bulgaria’s nationality policy, however.
Presumably Sofia calculates that an improved international atmosphere will open doors to much needed economic cooperation. Nevertheless, its implementation of proposed reforms appears slow and limited, with substantive change lagging well behind rhetoric.
- Source: Department of State, Records of the Deputy Secretary’s Office, 1982–1993, Lot 95 D 334, Bulgaria. Secret; Noforn; Nocontract; Orcon. Drafted by Dorothea Rosen (INR/SEE) on July 7. A stamped notation indicates that Whitehead saw the memorandum. Shultz was in Thailand, July 6–9, attending the ASEAN post-ministerial conference. INR issued Intelligence Research Report No. 180 on August 5 entitled “Bulgaria: Trying To Change Its Image,” which covered in detail the issues outlined in this memorandum. (Reagan Library, Lisa Jameson Files, Bulgaria)↩