Jul 02, 2004  |  By: LOU CHIBBARO JR.  | COMMENTS     

the Fulbright Scholarship operation at the embassy.

A source familiar with the State Department, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the account by Coleman. The source said that Sean Hillen, whom the newspaper site identifies as the paper’s editor and general manager, applied for the job of executive director of the Fulbright Commission, an embassy-appointed post in Bucharest. The source said Hillen served on the Fulbright board at the time he applied for the job, and embassy officials did not believe it was appropriate for a board member to assume the post of executive director.

“He appears to have waged a vendetta against Michael Guest ever since he was turned down for that job,” the source said.

Attempts to reach Hillen by e-mail for comment were unsuccessful.

Charles Gati, a European studies professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, and a recognized expert on Romania, said Guest was received well by most of Romania’s political leaders and news media.

The one exception, Gati said, has been an extremist faction known as the Greater Romania Party, which is “very anti-American” as well as anti-Semitic. Gati said he is certain the party is also hostile toward gays.

He said the party attacked Guest in its publications, in part, over of Guest’s and U.S. officials’ calls for Romania to address the problem of widespread corruption in government and private industry. Gati noted that the European Union has threatened to delay Romania’s admission into the union if it fails to take steps to address the corruption.

Squire, the State Department spokesperson, said the newspaper’s claim that Guest offended Romanians by talking about corruption was off base, saying Guest was following official U.S. policy on the issue.

Lou Chibbaro can be reached at lchibbaro@washblade.com.