900,000 Bulgarians sign anti-war petition

SOFIA (AFP) Apr 04, 2003
The opposition Socialists in Bulgaria, one of the countries backing the US-led war in Iraq, on Friday handed the government an anti-war petition signed by nearly 900,000 people over the past week.

"All that any citizen can hope for is that the government will conform to public opinion," said Socialist party leader Sergei Stanichev.

Bulgaria has eight million inhabitants, meaning the 900,000 signatures represent about 11 percent of the country's population.

The Socialist party (PSB) last week launched a mock protest vote campaign against the war, setting up ballot boxes in all communities and urging Bulgarians to voice their opposition to the war and the government's support for it.

Bulgaria is allowing US refueling aircraft to use an airbase on the Black Sea coast, and send 97 nuclear, biological and chemical defense experts to countries bordering Iraq if needed.

According to a recent opinion poll, 71 percent of Bulgarians oppose the government's support for US-led military action against Iraq.

SPACE.WIRE