Bulgaria's opposition questions blaming Hezbollah for bus bombing
| Sofia, Bulgaria
Bulgaria's opposition criticized a government statement that Hezbollah carried out a bomb attack that killed Israeli tourists, saying on Wednesday the conclusion was unjustified and dangerous.
The July attack in the coastal city of聽Burgas聽raised tensions in the Balkan country, where 15 percent of the 7.3 million population are Muslim, and opposition parties said the government acted under Israeli and US pressure.
(Read up on the issue from Monitor reporter Nicholas Blanford:聽Bulgaria blames Hezbollah for bombing, refueling terrorist listing debate)
The charge made by聽European Union听补苍诲 NATO member聽Bulgaria聽on Tuesday may open the way for聽Brussels聽to join the United States in branding the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant movement Hezbollah a terrorist organization.
"It is an unjustifiable act that is very dangerous,"聽Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP)听濒别补诲别谤听Sergei Stanishev聽said. "The government entered into an international political game in an irresponsible manner, without calculating the consequences."
The nationalist Attack and ethnic聽Turkish MRF party聽joined the Socialist criticism, saying it was too soon for the rightist government of Prime Minister聽Boiko Borisov聽to blame Hezbollah because the investigation had not yet concluded.
They said the government had failed to provide a thorough analysis of faults in national security and聽Bulgaria聽would remain vulnerable.
Israel聽blamed the attack in聽Burgas聽鈥� which killed five Israeli tourists, their Bulgarian driver and the bomber 鈥� on Iran and Hezbollah, which is part of the聽Lebanese government听补苍诲 waged a brief war with聽Israel聽in 2006.
Iran has denied responsibility and its UN envoy accused arch-enemy聽Israel聽of plotting and carrying out the bus聽bombing. Hezbollah, designated by the聽United States聽as a terrorist organization in the 1990s, has not responded to the charges.
Independent investigation
Bulgaria's Foreign Minister聽Nikolai Mladenov聽said the investigation had been independent.
The EU's police organization聽Europol, which helped the investigation, supported the Bulgarian conclusions. It said early assumptions the bombing was a suicide attack had proven false and investigations showed the device was detonated remotely.
"Nobody has ever exercised any pressure over聽Bulgaria," Mladenov told BNT television.
Since the attack, nationalists have charged that聽Bulgaria聽could be an easy route into聽Europe聽for radical Islamists.
Most of the Muslim population are a centuries-old community from the time of Turkish rule and not recent immigrants. A trial of 13 people on charges of spreading radical Islam has further stoked tensions.
(Additional reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova; editing by Andrew Roche)
