THE question of continued Bulgarian military participation in Iraq entered a new phase after President Georgi Purvanov suggested that troop numbers be cut ahead ahead of a complete withdrawal at the end of this year.
At the same time, at a special news conference on March 15, he criticised several institutions, including Parliament, the political leadership of the Defence Ministry, the military command, and the special services, for the way that they had dealt with the Iraq situation.
Purvanov’s statement was made a few days after it was officially confirmed that Bulgarian soldier Gurdi Gurdev was killed by “friendly fire” from a United States military post in Iraq. The death of Gurdev, on March 4, had already reignited the debate on Iraq. Public opinion polls have suggested that two-thirds of Bulgarians oppose continued deployment of the country’s military in Iraq.
In his March 15 statement, Purvanov said that Parliament should decide before the end of its term on the withdrawal of the Bulgarian troops from Iraq. Elections for a new Parliament are expected on June 25.
“The Bulgarian contingent in Iraq could be withdrawn by the end of this year,” Purvanov said. “Meanwhile, it could be reduced by 100 to 150 people.”
Purvanov said that the duration of the Bulgarian presence in Iraq depends on the timeframes specified in UN Security Council Resolution 1546 that expire at the end of this year. The duration also depends on the phases in the reconstruction of Iraq and the development of the democratic process in that country, including the holding of new parliamentary elections and the adoption of a new constitution, as well as on the needs of the new Iraqi authorities and possible further commitments on the part of the UN, the EU and NATO there.
“All this allows us to set the horizon of the Bulgarian contingent’s presence in Iraq at the end of 2005,” Purvanov said.
He pointed out that that would be a decision in the spirit of the understanding about a quick, but not early withdrawal – a dignified withdrawal as part of a uniform strategy of the coalition forces.
Purvanov said he was ready to take part in a public debate on the time parameters of the Bulgarian involvement in Iraq, adding that there should be a parliamentary debate, as well.
Purvanov repeated his earlier statements that the political debate on Bulgaria’s involvement in Iraq should be free from pre-election emotions and should seek to analyse the situation in Iraq after the elections, at the same time assessing the processes within the coalition.
Purvanov said that the Bulgarian soldiers were not to blame for the Gurdev incident, which was caused by “insufficient co-ordination and failures in operational co-operation among the coalition forces”.
According to Purvanov, it was strange how and why the Bulgarian forces, who were acting in their zone of responsibility, were not informed that US forces were on alert because of attempted attacks.
Purvanov demanded that the names of those personally responsible for the incident be announced.
Purvanov also criticised the politicians for using the tragic death of Gurdev for pre-election purposes and for acting like a “revolutionary tribunal”.
He said that he had heard no politician talking about personal responsibility and the responsibility of Parliament. It had been Parliament’s decision to deploy the military personnel.
Purvanov said that he did not approve of the attitude of the military command towards the author of the anonymous letter which initially leaked the allegations about “friendly fire”.
“If it wasn’t for the anonymous letter, it would have leaked from somewhere else, as has happened before,” Purvanov said. “The political and the military leadership have problems with communicating with the media and should think further about achieving transparency and openness.”
Purvanov criticised the military intelligence for not providing enough information, and Parliament for not considering details such as time or material parameters of the operation and the potential demand for compensation from the US.
Defence Minister Nikolai Svinarov responded to Purvanov’s demand that those personally responsible be named, by saying that the Bulgarian side was not to blame.
Purvanov’s statement had a mixed reception among political parties.
The right-wing parties accused him of trying to evade responsibility, the Bulgarian Socialist Party welcomed the proposal for a debate, while the National Movement Simeon II agreed in general with his conclusions and suggestions.
In a statement, Government spokesperson Dimitar Tsonev said that it was up to Parliament to decide on the number of Bulgarian soldiers in Iraq and the battalion’s term.   
Meanwhile, after the official confirmation and results from the US investigation became public, Bulgarian armed forces chief General Nikola Kolev said that Gurdev’s family had the full right to take court action against the US army for compensation.
In an interview with Trud daily, Gurdev’s father, Hristo Gurdev said that he believed that the US should pay compensation for the death of his son, not that the money would bring him back, but it was a matter of principle.
“I don’t have (US president) Mr. Bush’s number to call him and to get an apology,” Hristo Gurdev said. “We have a Foreign Minister for the purpose.”