[06SOFIA482] MILITARY BASING: MEDIA BATTLE SHIFTS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Published by Wikileaks & Bivol.bg

 date: 4/4/2006 15:22 refid: 06SOFIA482 origin: Embassy Sofia classification: CONFIDENTIAL destination: 06SOFIA454 header: VZCZCXRO1946 PP RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR DE RUEHSF #0482 0941522 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 041522Z APR 06 FM AMEMBASSY SOFIA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1701 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY   C O N F I D E N T I A L SOFIA 000482    SIPDIS    SIPDIS    E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2016  TAGS: MARR, PGOV, PREL, KPAO, BU  SUBJECT: MILITARY BASING: MEDIA BATTLE SHIFTS IN THE RIGHT  DIRECTION    REF: SOFIA 0454    Classified By: Ambassador John Beyrle for reasons 1.4 a and d.    1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  After the March 24 announcement (reftel)  that the U.S. and Bulgaria had reached agreement on text for  the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA), Bulgarian officials  at all levels have come out in support of the agreement.  Continuing Embassy public diplomacy efforts, combined with  this official support, has resulted in greatly improved press  coverage.  We continue to monitor all public statements  closely to ensure they reflect agreed language.  END SUMMARY.    Bulgarian Officials and Media "On Message"...  -------------------------------------------    2. (SBU) Following agreement on text for the Defense  Cooperation Agreement (DCA) which was announced on March 24  (reftel), Bulgarian officials at the national, regional, and  local levels are now speaking out more frequently in favor of  the agreement.  Since the announcement, there has been a  noticeable increase in favorable press coverage regarding the  proposed U.S. presence at Bulgarian military facilities.  In  a major shift, Trud, the largest circulation Bulgarian daily  newspaper, has come out in support of the agreement.    3. (SBU) As part of the Embassy's ongoing public affairs  outreach program, the Ambassador met with local officials of  municipalities located near the Novo Selo Training Area and  Bezmer Air Base March 6-8 to brief them on the agreement.  Some of these mayors and regional governors have replayed the  positive, factual information from these briefings in press  interviews with national news organizations--sometimes  virtually verbatim.    4. (SBU) In a national radio interview March 26, Georgi  Georgiev, mayor of the municipality of Tundzha, said, "There  will be no U.S. military bases in Bulgaria."  After taking  the opportunity to correctly point out that these will be  joint bases, the mayor went on to highlight the economic  benefits of the bases while downplaying fears of terrorist  attacks, pollution, and nuclear weapons.    ...While Opponents Beat the Drum  --------------------------------    5. (U) On March 22, the ultra-nationalist Ataka party began a  petition campaign against the agreement with the goal of  collecting 500,000 signatures and 60 votes in Parliament to  force a national referendum on the DCA.  Under Bulgarian law,  national referenda can only be ordered by the President, the  Council of Ministers, or a vote by one quarter of  Parliament--60 out 240 votes.  With only 14 seats in  Parliament and no other parties sympathetic to the referendum  campaign, Ataka's chances for success are remote.  Ataka  leader Volen Siderov told Bulgarian television April 4 that a  copy of the petition would be delivered to the U.S. Embassy  in Sofia and that "we are drawing up a letter to the U.S.  Congress to inform them of the real public attitudes  regarding the deployment of military bases in this country."    6. (C) COMMENT.  Now that they have seen the agreed text,  Bulgarian government and military officials are publicly  promoting the benefits and dispelling the myths that grew up  around the agreement.  In the aftermath of Ataka's failure to  derail the negotiations, its petition campaign is designed as  much to retain visibility for the party as to scuttle the  agreement, recognizing that the ruling coalition easily has  enough votes to approve.  We continue to monitor all public  statements closely to ensure they reflect agreed language.  END COMMENT.  Beyrle 

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