US embassy cable - 05SOFIA1881

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SOFIA 001881 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DRL/IRF for Michael Mates, EUR/NCE for Scott Brandon 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, SCUL, KIRF, BU 
SUBJECT: BULGARIA DENIES ENTRY TO REV. MOON 
 
REF: SOFIA 1847 
 
1. SUMMARY: Unification Church leader Sun Myung Moon was 
denied permission to enter Bulgaria on October 26 after the 
MOI deemed his presence "undesirable," citing inability to 
provide security following the shooting of high-profile 
banker Emil Kyulev. 
 
2. (SBU) Moon had planned to arrive on October 27 for a two- 
day visit as part of an ongoing 100-city world tour. 
According to Bulgarian followers, his stay in Sofia was to 
include a mass wedding and conference at the Sheraton Hotel. 
In the week preceding his planned arrival, press stories on 
Moon triggered protests from nationalist groups and 
religious leaders opposed to his visit.  After members of 
the right-wing "VMRO" political party and the nationalist 
extremist group "Ataka" announced plans to demonstrate 
against Moon's visit, Moon's followers approached the MOI to 
discuss security for their event. 
 
3. (SBU) According to Robert Williamson, a UK-based 
representative of the Moon-affiliated Inter-Religious 
Federation for World Peace and member of Moon's advance 
team, these concerns were relayed to the MOI in a letter on 
October 26.  On the same day, the gangland-style shooting of 
well-known banker Emil Kyulev sent much of the government 
into high alert (Reftel). 
 
4. (SBU) Late on the afternoon of the 26th, Williamson 
reported receiving a visit from representatives of the 
Bulgarian National Security Service.  They informed him that 
due to the crackdown following Kyulev's murder, the MOI 
would not be able to provide security for Moon's planned 
event, and that his visit was not advisable in the current 
situation.  When asked for clarification by Moon 
representatives, the NSS officers replied that if Moon 
attempted to enter Bulgaria, he would be refused entry. 
According to Williamson, they indicated that the MOI's 
decision was not permanent, and that it could be 
reconsidered at a later date.  In a press release issued the 
same day, the MOI stated "The Ministry of Interior finds the 
presence of Sun Myung Moon in Bulgaria undesirable." 
 
5. (SBU) Subsequent Embassy inquiries to the MOI revealed 
that Moon was "banned" from Bulgaria under Article 10, 
Paragraph 1 of the Law on Foreigners, which forbids entry to 
foreigners who have "by [their] actions endangered the 
security or the interests of the Bulgarian state" or who are 
believed to be "acting against the country's security." 
 
6. (SBU) MOI officials also justified their action by noting 
that the Unification Church is not legally registered in 
Bulgaria, and that Moon had planned on entering the country 
as a tourist while actually intending to conduct religious 
services.  Moon representatives countered that their 
organization has made repeated attempts to register over the 
past ten years, but has been prevented from doing so by red 
tape and bureaucratic delays.  According to Williamson, Moon 
does not hold a Bulgarian visa, but had planned to enter 
Bulgaria under a visa waiver program using his South Korean 
passport.  Bulgarian immigration law currently makes no 
provision for religious worker visas. 
 
7. (SBU) Moon has faced similar travel bans in many other 
countries.  He is currently banned from entering the 
Schengen zone due to a German-imposed "immigration 
exclusion" alleging that he is a cult leader dangerous to 
the country's youth.  Japan has refused him entry based on 
his 1981 conviction for tax fraud in the U.S., while the 
U.K. agreed to lift a longstanding entry ban for the 
purposes of Moon's current world tour. 
 
8. (SBU) Despite banning Moon's visit, GOB authorities did 
allow his deputy, Song Yong-Chol, to enter the country, and 
Moon's followers conducted their planned meetings on October 
27 without any interference. 
 
9. (SBU) COMMENT: We believe that the GOB's move to prevent 
Moon's visit was a last-minute decision made out of concern 
for security and political expediency rather than religious 
intolerance.  It is difficult to overstate how seriously 
Kyulev's murder has shaken a Bulgarian establishment already 
struggling to establish effective rule of law.  Regardless 
of its context, however, the travel ban against Moon 
highlights serious religious freedom concerns as it relates 
to the registration requirements of the 2002 Confessions Act 
and the willingness of the GOB to stand up for the rights of 
non-traditional religious groups.  We will continue to 
emphasize these concerns to our Bulgarian contacts and will 
report substantive developments as appropriate. 
 
 
BEYRLE