Don’t Retreat on Reforms, Baker Warns Bulgarians

In an effort to keep up the momentum of reform in Eastern Europe, Secretary of State James A. Baker III stopped here Saturday night to warn the Communist government against backsliding on promises of democracy and to encourage the new-born opposition to remain united in the coming elections.

Baker was briefly in danger of being jostled by several hundred enthusiastic anti-Communists who were waiting outside his hotel when he arrived to meet with 17 leaders of various factions of the United Democratic Front, the opposition umbrella organization.

“De-mo-crat-zi-a, “ they chanted, alternating with “U.S.A.” to the visitor whose presence seemed to symbolize American concern for their future. One of several home-made placards proclaimed: “Your People’s Democracy Is Our Dream.”

Baker was initially hustled into the entrance of the hotel by worried security men as the crowd pressed forward. But once on the steps, he turned and told them that Bulgaria is “on the threshold of the new age of democracy.”

“The United States supports free and fair elections for Bulgaria,” he shouted to prolonged cheers.

A main complaint of the opposition is that the Communists, with decades of organization in place, will have an unfair advantage in the coming elections, which are scheduled for May. One man in the crowd said the opposition wants elections delayed until November because there is not enough time for it to campaign effectively against the Communists.

Baker arrived here from Moscow in late afternoon and went directly to a government guest house outside Sofia for talks with President Petar Mladenov and other government officials.

Bush will visit Bucharest, Romania, today for a similarly brief meeting with government officials and opposition leaders. His two-hour visit there will also be aimed at encouraging democratic change. The Bush Administration has voiced its concern on a number of occasions about the new Romanian government’s commitment to democracy.

Bulgaria’s Communists are unique among East Europeans because they ousted their Stalinist strongman, Todor Zhivkov, in November but remain in power. Indeed, the present government, formed only last Thursday, has the first all-Communist Cabinet in four decades because Prime Minister Andrei Lukanov could not persuade allied parties or opposition leaders to join it.

The party suffered another setback Friday to its efforts to acquire a more progressive image when three members of its reformist wing, the Alternative Socialist Organization, announced that they had resigned from the newly created 153-member Supreme Council.

Still, government officials appeared pleased that Baker had stopped here on his way from Moscow to Ottawa, noting that he is the first U.S. secretary of state ever to visit. Lukanov, speaking to reporters before Baker met the opposition, said the visit was an endorsement of the changes in the country, and “that will help everyone in the election.”

But according to a senior U.S. official, Baker “made it clear that if Bulgaria wants better relations with the United States, the government must respect the complaints of the opposition” about holding free and fair elections and making good on other pledges to democratize the country.

“The reason he is here,” the official said of Baker, “is to make as sure as we can that the elections will be free and fair. . . . The message he gave was that we’ll be watching the elections closely” before responding to Bulgaria’s request for better trade terms, help in bringing Western business ventures here and other economic benefits.

Before going to Moscow last week, Baker visited Prague, where he said the United States wants to help move the revolutions of the past three months from the streets of Eastern Europe into democratic parliaments. Free elections are the only basis for legitimacy for any government, he said, and the United States will give or withhold benefits depending on how well the region’s nations meet this requirement.