site.btaParliament Passes Revisions Expanding Scope of Disclosure of Affiliation to Communist-era State Security

Parliament Passes Revisions Expanding Scope of  Disclosure of Affiliation to Communist-era State Security

Sofia, September 2 (BTA) - Parliament adopted on first reading a Bill on the Communist-era State Security on Friday. Two other bills on the same subject were rejected.

The MPs adopted draft changes in the law on disclosure of affiliation of Bulgarian nationals to the former State Security and the Intelligence Services of the Bulgarian People's Army, moved by MPs Metodi Andreev (GERB), Peter Slavov (Reformist Bloc) and Martin Dimitrov (Reformist Bloc). They envisage extending the circle of applicants for public positions (mayors of boroughs, deputy mayors, public administration officials and jurors) that are to be checked for affiliation to the former secret services.

In the meantime, Parliament rejected two bills, moved by BSP-Left Bulgaria and independent MP Velizar Enchev, respectively, which envisaged closure of the Committee on Disclosure of Documents and Announcing Bulgarian Citizens' Affiliation to State Security and the Intelligence Services of the Bulgarian People's Army.

After May 31, 2016, not a single collection of documents, file or card of a Bulgarian citizen recruited to cooperate by the intelligence services of the defence ministry or the General Staff before July 16, 1991 was left at the Defence Information Service, Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev said in a press release.

A total 87,280 archival units representing all existing documents from the archives of the former intelligence services for the period between September 9, 1944 and July 16, 1991, were handed over at the end of May 2016 by the Defence Information Service to the Committee on Disclosure.

The archival units were handed over in compliance with the Act on Access and Declaration of Affiliation of Bulgarian Citizens to State Security and the Intelligence Services of the Bulgarian People's Army. A total of 30,826 of these have been handed over in fulfilment of the Agreement signed between the Ministry of Defence and the Committee signed on May 28, 2015.

To date, just 21 boxes of documents remain at the service until their status is finally clarified following consultations with the leadership of the State Commission on Information Security with a view to applying the requirements of the Protection of Classified Information Act, Nenchev said.