Bulgarian Nurses Sentenced to Death As Foreign Minister Visits Washington A visit by Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin to Washington, D.C., this week coincided with the unwelcome news that after a second trial in Libya, five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor had again been sentenced to death for deliberately infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV. The case has been closely watched by both the Bulgarian public as well as the world community for the past eight years, and many had hoped that after an international furor over the initial guilty verdict, the fate of the nurses and doctor would improve after a retrial was ordered. But the second trial handed down the same guilty verdict, disappointing Kalfin, who was in D.C. promoting Bulgarian-U.S. relations. “One more time the court didn’t take into consideration the very clear and evident facts about the nurses,” Kalfin told the Diplomatic Pouch at a reception in his honor at the Bulgarian Residence. “And with this decision, [they made] a very wrong linkage with the tragedy of these people and the role of the work of these nurses in Libya, misleading the families and the whole of Libyan society.” But those families cheered the conviction, arguing that the six health care workers intentionally spread the HIV virus to more than 400 children as part of an AIDS experiment. The verdict, however, drew immediate condemnation by the European Union as well as the United States, who say the defendants are simply being used as scapegoats, and the infections were the result of unhygienic practices at the Libyan hospital where they worked. In fact, according to a report in Nature magazine, samples from the infected children reveal that they had contracted the virus before the nurses and doctor came to Libya. Outside observers had also hoped that Libya’s efforts to improve relations with the West would lead to a revised verdict. But after eight years, the Bulgarian government seems to be back where it started. In fact, the Diplomatic Pouch spoke to Bulgarian Ambassador Elena Poptodorova back in January 2006, shortly after the retrial was ordered, when she was guardedly hopeful that the nurses’ innocence would be proven. Poptodorova was with the foreign minister during his visit this week and shared his disappointment at the “shattering” news. Also disappointed was U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, with whom Kalfin met on Dec. 19. He called Rice’s support of Bulgaria’s position “a very strong sign of solidarity.” “We feel very compassionate and we’ve expressed our solidarity with the children and the tragedy of the families there,” Kalfin added, “but there is no point making these linkages.” The case will now automatically be referred to Libya’s Supreme Court, and Kalfin said he hopes authorities will act swiftly and reasonably. “This is not just anymore merely a judicial issue but an issue where the Libyan leadership should also be involved. And we’re going to rely very much on our international partners. “After having eight years of experience in Libya, I’m not surprised with anything anymore,” Kalfin said. “But I still hope that these are human beings that have the right to justice and once the judicial system is working, it has to be objective; it has to take into the consideration the very clear [scientific] evidence.” Bulgarian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ivailo Kalfin, right, has received the support of U.S. officials in the Libyan trial of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor accused of infecting children with HIV. Kalfin is seen here during a September visit with U.S. Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried. Photos: Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Afghan Women Take Spotlight Two events brought out members of Capitol Hill as well the first lady to celebrate Afghan women and their ties with Americans. On Dec. 4, Ariana Outreach of Virginia and International Orphan Care of Los Angeles hosted the first Afghan and American Sisterhood Award Gala in the Cannon Congressional Building to highlight the plight of the Afghan people and the union of Afghan and American women. And earlier in the day, first lady Laura Bush took the podium at Georgetown University to announce a formal partnership between the university and the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council. “This new partnership will expand and improve the Afghan Women’s Council,” Bush said, referring to the council that was established by her husband and Afghan President Hamid Karzai in 2002 to promote public-private partnerships in Afghanistan and the United States and to mobilize resources to improve the lives of Afghan women. The council’s various initiatives have already helped women reclaim “their place with men at the center of Afghan society,” said the first lady. “With the support of Georgetown, the council will work to improve the lives of even more women in Afghanistan,” she added, explaining how over the next two years, the council will transition from its current home at the State Department to fully integrate into Georgetown. Following the first lady’s speech, Undersecretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky introduced the council’s new and returning board members and applauded Georgetown for its many collaborative projects related to Afghanistan. “The partnership will strengthen the council’s work in helping Afghan women, and indeed all Afghans, transform their lives for the better,” said Dobriansky, “and will provide Georgetown University with an opportunity to apply the resources and expertise found in its various schools, centers and institutions to an area of such vital importance.” One of Dobriansky’s State Department colleagues received special recognition for her work on behalf of Afghan women later that evening at a Capitol Hill reception that attracted Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas) and the gala’s host, Meridian International Center President Stuart Holliday. Ariana Outreach presented its inaugural Afghan American Sisterhood Award to Charlotte (Charlie) Ponticelli, senior advisor in the Office of Refugees, Population and Migration at the State Department, as well as to Sonia Nassery Cole, founder of the Afghanistan World Foundation, for their contributions to the empowerment of Afghan women. A Baltimore, Md., native and long-time human rights advocate, Ponticelli has spent considerable time working inside Afghanistan on issues aimed at improving the daily lives of Afghan women and children, calling her work the “most rewarding experience of my life.” Philanthropist and advocate Cole was honored as the Afghan recipient of the Sisterhood Award for her relentless efforts in the reconstruction process of Afghanistan. Humira Noorestani, founder of Ariana Outreach, said she was impressed by the turnout at the inaugural gala, which featured more than 200 guests. “The Afghan Diaspora has been present for 25 plus years, yet they do not have a real voice in Washington. As an Afghan-American woman, I will not allow my country to crumble again,” she said. Nominations for next year’s award recipients to honor an Afghan and an American woman are being accepted until Jan. 13. To apply, visit www.arianaoutreach.com. On Dec. 4, first lady Laura Bush took the podium at Georgetown University to announce a formal partnership between the university and the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council. Photos: Phil Humnicky / Georgetown University Honoring Azerbaijan’s Charitable First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, Azerbaijan’s first lady, charmed a D.C. audience with her passion for promoting Azeri culture and improving her country’s education, health and social development, earning the 2006 Goodwill Ambassador Award from the United States-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC) in a ceremony on Dec. 6 at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium. In addition to serving as a member of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, a UNESCO goodwill ambassador, chairwoman of the U.S.-Azerbaijan Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, and head of numerous charities and cultural organizations, Aliyeva has been a dedicated supporter of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, which seeks to strengthen Azerbaijan’s prosperity and progress. She’s been instrumental in the construction of 132 new schools in Azerbaijan, including some in the most remote villages, as well as improvements to orphanages and libraries. The foundation’s programs also help the blind and preserve cultural heritage sites, among other projects. Her impressive charitable portfolio has garnered Aliyeva accolades such as Azerbaijan’s 2005 “Woman of the Year.” It also earned her the praise of Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), who gave the keynote speech at the presentation of the USACC award. Commenting on Azerbaijan’s rapid economic and energy expansion and its growing ties to the United States, Lugar said everyone should celebrate the “extraordinary new dreams of the [Azeri] president and the Parliament of the growing country that has so much to offer to the world.” Likewise, the first lady cited massive energy projects, such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, as evidence of the emerging bonds between the United States and Azerbaijan. “I believe it is crucial that we continue to make our relationship closer. I hope that my visit to the United States, together with the members of our Parliament, will serve this aim,” she said. “Closer cooperation between Azerbaijan and the United States is essential for our mutual success. Through dialogue we can grow closer, understand each other better, and build a long-lasting relationship.” Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), front page, spoke at the presentation of the United States-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce’s Goodwill Ambassador Award to Mehriban Aliyeva, first lady of Azerbaijan, in a ceremony held at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium. Photos: United States-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce Scholar Presses for Broader Somalia Analysis As tensions mount in Somalia between the Islamic militias in control of Mogadishu and the weak but internationally recognized interim government—with neighboring rivals Ethiopia and Eritrea each taking sides—the horn of Africa seems to be dangerously on the verge of an all-out regional conflict. The escalating situation is also confounding international experts as they grapple with ways to stop this slide toward a war that could engulf the entire area and carve out a terrorist stronghold for al-Qaeda and other Islamic radical groups. But to understand the roots of Somalia’s current power struggle, the world needs to focus first on the long-simmering Ethiopian-Eritrean border dispute, which is acting as a “proxy conflict” to Somalia’s internal struggles, according to new Council on Foreign Relations special report. Terrence Lyons, an associate professor at George Mason University and author of “Avoiding Conflict in the Horn of Africa: U.S. Policy Toward Ethiopia and Eritrea,” argues that U.S. involvement in the Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict is one of the few effective options to bring a semblance of stability to Somalia. Lyons spoke to reporters on a conference call from New York, emphasizing the linkages of crises in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan that “feed off each other.” “Given the stakes and the role the region plays with regard to the Arabian Peninsula and counterterrorism, the importance of democratization promotion globally, and the growing attention to the region on Capitol Hill and within Diaspora communities, disengagement is not an option,” Lyons said, calling for a more comprehensive U.S. policy that looks at the broader Somalia picture, in which Ethiopia and Eritrea are deeply intertwined. Ethiopia, with tacit approval from the United States, backs the weak interim government and has been streaming in soldiers across the border. Eritrea, meanwhile, is supporting the Islamic militants battling to overthrow the interim government—part of a consistent pattern of “supporting the enemy of one’s enemy,” according to Lyons. The precarious situation in Somalia “is inherently and in important ways connected to the breakdown of the Ethiopian-Eritrean peace process,” he added, “which has gone dangerously off the rails and is really not receiving the international attention that it deserves.” That peace process has been steadily collapsing since late 1995, when Eritrea imposed new restrictions on the movement of the U.N. peacekeeping mission mandated to monitor the demilitarized zone established by the 2000 Algiers Agreement. Since then, the country has moved in troops into the area, and both Ethiopia and Eritrea refuse to accept the decisions of the Boundary Commission demarcating the lines that caused a two-year border war between the two nations. Lyons denounced the Boundary Commission’s decision to go ahead with an aerial demarcation of the border, saying it will only provoke the two rivals. He also said that because “neither Ethiopia nor Eritrea have demonstrated the ability or willingness to build regional peace initiatives on the ground … strong multilateral diplomacy energized by key players such as the U.S. and African Union is needed.” He criticized current U.S. policy toward Africa as being “episodic” and narrowly focused on Darfur and terrorism while overlooking other triggers such as the Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict. And he urged the Bush administration and other leaders “to treat the Islamic Courts within the Somali context and not as a monolithic al-Qaeda movement,” noting that the Islamic militias are composed of many diverse subgroups. “Washington has few good options to address the emergent threats in Somalia,” Lyons said. “There are, however, opportunities to push for full implementation of the peace agreement that ended the Ethiopia-Eritrea border conflict, which can help dampen the dynamic that contributes to escalation in Somalia.” Ethiopians are repatriated by the Red Cross across the Mereb Bridge, which is controlled by the U.N. Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Photos: Rick Bajornas / U.N. U.S. Global Leadership Campaign Urges Robust International Affairs Budget by Nick Clayton The results of November’s midterm elections have spurred hopes and fears over what a Democratic majority will do to the U.S. International Affairs Budget. In speeches at a dinner for the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign (USGLC), Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and retiring Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.) hinted that change is coming. The International Affairs (IA) Budget, often referred to as the “150 Account,” funds America’s economic, diplomatic and humanitarian initiatives abroad. Both senators lamented recent developments in U.S. foreign policy and voiced concerns over aid spending. Excluding the Iraq War, IA funds have dropped since 2001, Sarbanes said. Because of this, the United States is at risk of losing voting rights in humanitarian organizations for not paying dues and funding assessments, and he called the United States “delinquent” in this venture. Sarbanes also criticized the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), which has been allocated funds taken from the IA. The MCA, created in 2002, offers humanitarian assistance but withholds aid to countries that fail to make progress in fighting corruption, improving human rights and democratization “What happens to the children, or the women, or the poor in countries with non-responsive governments, or nations in conflict?” Sarbanes asked. This is not the first time that the IA Budget has fluctuated. Although its funding has decreased under the current Republican administration, IA funds were also drastically cut under the Clinton administration, and its budget is now two-thirds higher than in 1996. These cuts followed a Democratic effort to balance national spending, and given the deficit, Sarbanes said that a period of cutting back may be coming as well. The two senators also voiced concerns over U.S. foreign policy, particularly President Bush’s refusal to engage in dialogue with Iran and Syria over Iraq. “Great nations engage. Great leaders engage. Great countries are not afraid to engage,” Hagel said. Hagel, who opposes the president on many foreign policy issues, pointed to the Iraq war as an example of where diplomatic and economic options should have been used instead of military intervention. “The military is not going to solve the question of global extremism,” Hagel said. Hagel served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with Sarbanes, and the two were honored by the USGLC for their commitment to U.S. global engagement at a dinner on Dec. 13 at the Fairmont Hotel. The U.S. Global Leadership Campaign is a broad-based coalition of nearly 400 businesses and organizations representing millions of Americans whose mission is to ensure continued global engagement and a robust U.S. International Affairs Budget. Retiring Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.), left, receives the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign Congressional Champion Award from President and Chief Executive Officer of the Academy for Educational Development Stephen F. Moseley at a dinner sponsored by the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign at a dinner on Dec. 13 at the Fairmont Hotel. On the front page: Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) also received the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign Congressional Champion Award. Photos: U.S. Global Leadership Campaign SPONSOR THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT P.O. Box 1345 Wheaton, MD 20915-1345 Tel: 301.933.3552 • Fax: 301.949.0065 www.washdiplomat.com