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Bulgarian exiled King

plans to return

SOFIA: Bulgarian President Zhelyu Zhelev has defended the right of exiled King Simeon to visit the Balkan country and has accused the socialist government of trying to frustrate the monarch's planned return.

Speaking on national television late on Wednesday, Zhelev's spokesman Valentin Stoyanov said King Simeon was fully entitled to return to his native land after fifty years of enforced exile because he held a Bulgarian passport.

"Besides, Simeon is a part of our history. For Dr Zhelev it would be a pleasure to meet Simeon on Bulgarian soil and to invite him to dinner at the president's home," Stoyanov said.

King Simeon, who now lives in Madrid with his family, is expected to arrive in Sofia on May 25 on his first visit since fleeing into exile in 1946 after the communists seized power.

Simeon, 58, has not indicated how long he will remain in Bulgaria and enthusiastic monarchists are speculating that he may settle down here for good.

Simeon's planned return has already sown confusion among Bulgaria's fractious political parties, not least because his passport is reportedly due to expire shortly after his arrival.

The ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party, composed largely of ex-communists, has said Simeon may visit Bulgaria as a private citizen but insists that he publicly renounce the throne.

Simeon has previously said that he is still technically king because he never abdicated and he has not recognised a 1946 referendum that declared Bulgaria a republic, saying it was rigged by the communists with Soviet backing.

The government appears keen to avoid any official contact with Simeon, fearing that this could build him up into a political figure. Some newspapers have speculated that the government may hamper the renewal of Simeon's passport.

President Zhelev, a veteran anti-communist often at loggerheads with the government, said in his statement that such a step would blacken Bulgaria's name in the democratic world.

Zhelev, who will seek a second mandate in presidential elections due later this year, also attacked the government's attempts to recall Sofia's ambassador to Spain for inviting Simeon to an official reception at the Bulgarian embassy.-Reuter