"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 Burgas 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 U.S.
pressure. The charge made by European Union and NATO member Bulgaria on Tuesday may
open the way for Brussels 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," Bulgarian Socialist
Party (BSP) leader Sergei Stanishev said. "The government entered into an
international political game in an irresponsible manner, without calculating the
consequences." The nationalist Attack and ethnic Turkish MRF party joined the Socialist
criticism, saying it was too soon for the rightist government of Prime Minister
Boiko Borisov 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 Bulgaria would remain vulnerable."