874.00/8–1545: Telegram
The United States Representative in Bulgaria (Barnes) to the Secretary of State
[Received 5 p.m.]
442. Yesterday opposition Ministers Cheshmedzhiev, Stoyanov, Pavlov and Derzhanski declared to the Prime Minister that unless elections were postponed and civil liberties restored as promised, they could no longer remain in Cabinet. As government’s electoral campaign is continuing in full force here resignation of these four Ministers is expected shortly. Their stand is motivated by refusal of Government to grant opposition candidates newsprint or radio time, thus limiting them to occasional handbills and posters distributed at great personal risk. “Independent” daily Den which commenced publication yesterday as alleged concession to opposition is edited by two Communists and in first two issues has contained no contributions by opposition.
In addition this mission had abundant documented evidence that arrests and beatings of Agrarian leaders, forced withdrawals of opposition candidates and suppression of all civil liberties are continuing throughout the country.
Yesterday opposition was for first time able to set forth its views in form of electoral platform distributed as handbills and in few instances as posters. In general lines this program is identical with that of Fatherland Front put [but] after granting that a Bulgarian democracy must be based on cooperation of peasants and works [workers] it insists that “this cooperation must be based on full independence, equality and freedom of organization for the political parties representing the Bulgarian peasants and workers as well as for their youth movements. The basis of the Fatherland Front should be [Page 288] independent political organizations which respect each other and which have equal rights as well as equal obligations and responsibilities. Only in this way can a genuinely free and democratic Bulgaria be created”.
Repeated to Moscow as 227.