TODOR ZIVKOV'S POLITICAL COMEBACK

AIM Skopje, 19 March, 1998

The only living communist dictator, Todor Zivkov has re-appeared on the political scene. This happened nine years after his public address of November 10, 1989. During that time, Papa (Tata), as the Bulgarians used to call him, was in the focus of as an accused, a prisoner and then an ordinary pensioner. Today, just before the Congress of the Bulgarian Socialist (former Communist) Party (BSP) under the rule of the reformist Alliance of the Democratic Forces (SDS), the Todor Zivkov's card has again been placed on the table.

Zivkov, who was several months ago released from house arrest in a villa in Bojana, a prestigious suburb of Sofia, was nominated for a member of the BSP by the communal party organization of the Second District of Sofia - Kremikovci, named after the Metallurgical Combine built during Zivkov's reign, which was a pride of the socialist system for many years, but is nowadays in a very difficult financial situation.

Eighty-nine-year-old Zivkov was expelled from the BKP at the Congress of December 13, 1989 immediately after his toppling. A month later he was arrested and charged for illegal distribution of flats and granting assistance to "brotherly" socialist parties, mostly African ones, from state funds. Exactly seven years and eight months later Papa is a free man again as his house arrest has been revoked.

The idea of Kremikovci Socialists was announced just on the eve of the Communal Conference at which delegates for the BSP Congress were to be elected. "We held several meetings with comrade Zivkov so as to make him see that the Party needed him. Time has come for him to take things into his hands and to unite forces of the left into a powerful opposition bloc", stated Todor Meckarski, Vice-President of the BSP Communal Council in Kremikovci.

For a long time Zivkov refused to join politics, disappointed with the leadership methods of Georgi Prvenov, the present Party leader. However, later on he agreed to appear before the Kremikovci Socialists who prepared a BSP party card for him. Naturally, not No.0000001 which he had as the BKP (Bulgarian Communist Party) Secretary General.

Zivkov appeared in a festive atmosphere at the Conference, listened to reports and himself delivered a pathetic speech in his typical style, well-known from his years before November 10, 1989, waving his hands and banging his fist on the rostrum. Everyone in the hall listened with approval, interrupting him with applause and cries "Bravo".

For the time being, however, Zivkov is refusing to join the BSP and has not yet taken his party card No.036907 since, as he said, he expected his full political rehabilitation at the May Congress of the Socialists. However, he himself attached his colour photo to the card and signed it, but decided to postpone his joining its ranks. "As of today, I ask you to think of me as a member of your organization both in the spirit and in my duties. But, it wouldn't be right to have the question of my membership in the BSP dealt with on the communal level. The logical place for considering Todor Zivkov's party membership is the Party Congress", said Papa in his letter he wrote so as to make certain that his words would not be changed as it happened before, deliberately or not.

He did not miss the opportunity to make a thorough analysis of the current situation within the BSP and the state whereby he confirmed that he kept a close watch on all processes in Bulgaria and was not indifferent to what went on. He called the BSP leadership anti-popular, saying that it included 5-6 criminals. He refused to state specifically who he was referring to, but the former leader and Prime Minister Videnov, who lost his position a year ago because of the deteriorated economic situation in the country, was not one of them.

"Each team that led the BSP from the time I was removed to date has wounded the party directly in its heart. They use Prvenov for their dirty work", said Zivkov, not naming any names.

He demanded the replacement of the leadership of BSP whose origins lie in small party organizations like the one in his home town of Pravec or Kremikovci and Jundol, where he was warmly welcomed several months ago. "We have to make the leadership agree to replacements. We have the people on our side. We do not propose a return to old approaches or methods of work. We have to adapt ourselves to capitalist Bulgaria which is already a reality", said Papa to the Kremikovci delegates.

For the time being the BSP leadership has not yet stated its stance vis-a-vis the former leader of a party with a century-old tradition. Nikola Kojcev, leader of the Sofia Socialists, who was present at the Kremikovci Conference, was in favour of Zivkov's rehabilitation. "He was expelled from the Party through no fault of his. It is impossible for someone who was its first man for 35 years to lose all of a sudden all the basic qualities required of its member. For me it's cannibalism. With his political comeback he will not become a party problem", said Kojcev who is also a member of the BSP Higher Board, which is an opposition party today.

Georgi Prvenov, the BSP President, is refraining from all assessments of the situation until Zivkov's re-admission comes through. "I do not deny Zivkov's role in the socio-political life of the country during the last several decades. But, now he has been dragged into a scenario whose ultimate objectives he knows nothing about. The ritual performed in Kremikovci was aimed at diverting the attention of the Party and public to lesser problems", claims Prvenov.

Using Zivkov as a trump card on the Bulgarian political scene is only a logical continuation of the struggle for power within the BSP, two months before its Congress. The camps are clear - there is the conservative-marxist core with a hidden favourite Jan Videnov on the one side, and social-democrats headed by the Party's President, Georgi Prvenov, on the other. People around Videnov are still unable to forgive Prvenov for handing over the power in February 1997, under the pressure of the people on the streets. The outcome of the congress showdown will be decisive for the future BSP policy.

It is still unclear who will benefit from Zivkov's coming to the forefront. And, although he still has no party membership, the latest events have made him a political figure to be reckoned with in the life of BSP. Zivkov is still a symbol of socialism, the one that some Bulgarians remember with nostalgia. Perhaps the objective of the operation "Zivkov" will become clear just before or during the Congress which the former leader has promised to attend as a guest if they allow him to address the delegates.

AIM Sofia

GEORGI FILIPOV