THE 35-nation East-West environment conference in the Bulgarian capital
Sofia was seriously disrupted last week after Bulgarian militia attacked
a group of ecology activists. Members of Ecoglasnost, Bulgaria鈥檚 equivalent
of Friends of the Earth, were beaten and arrested while trying to collect
signatures on a pro-conservation petition.
More than 40 people were seized, including 10 passers-by and a Soviet
delegate to one of the conference鈥檚 parallel events. All were later freed.
Those arrested included Ecoglasnost secretary and Sofia city councillor
Alexander Karakachanov, who had hospital treatment for severe bruising and
abrasions of the back and neck. Other detainees complained of damaged kidneys,
cracked ribs and broken fingers.
The arrests and assaults caused a row at the environment meeting of
the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). Two sessions
were suspended while delegates criticised the militia鈥檚 actions, the first
time this has happened at a CSCE event.
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Some delegations, including Britain, indicated that they might withdraw
from the meeting or refuse to sign the concluding document unless the Bulgarian
government provided a satisfactory explanation. Richard Smith, head of the
delegation from the US, said his country was unlikely to sign the final
document under such circumstances.
Next day, Bulgaria鈥檚 environment minister, Nikolai Dyulgerov, admitted
that the security forces had overstepped the mark. Delegates accepted the
statement, but many demanded assurances that these incidents would not happen
again.
The US immediately submitted a strongly worded proposal calling for
independent unofficial environmental groups to be given the right to exist,
express their views and function without harassment. This proposal is likely
to be incorporated into the Sofia meeting鈥檚 final document.
Ecoglasnost had capitalised on the unusually tolerant atmosphere in
Sofia resulting from the presence of hundreds of foreign diplomats and journalists.
The group held three public meetings, each attracting more than 1000 people.
During the first two weeks of the three-week conference, Ecoglasnost
collected more than 9000 signatures on a petition calling for more public
consultation about a hydropower and irrigation scheme to divert some of
the south-flowing Mesta river away from Greece to Bulgaria鈥檚 Trakia Plain.
Ecoglasnost says the project will destroy nature reserves and raise the
water table around Bulgaria鈥檚 second city, Plovdiv.
In a surprise move, Yordan Yotov, a senior official of Energoproekt,
the Bulgarian firm in charge of the project, addressed one of Ecoglasnost鈥檚
public meetings, calling for dialogue. Ecoglasnost responded by inviting
Yotov to a public debate.
Denise Searle and Mike Power, Sofia
