site.btaParliament Adopts Conclusively Amendments to Interior Ministry Act

Parliament Adopts Conclusively Amendments to Interior Ministry Act

Sofia, February 12 (BTA) - Parliament adopted conclusively
amendments to the Interior Ministry Act on Thursday.

The State Agency for Technical Operations (SATO) will be headed
by a chairperson to be appointed by presidential decree on the
Council of Ministers' proposal, the MPs decided by amending the
Special Surveillance Means Act through the Interior Ministry
Act. A person can be appointed SATO chair if he or she has no
less than 10 years of juridical or professional experience in
the security or public order services. The requirements for a
deputy SATO chair are 7 years of juridical or professional
experience in the security or public order services.

Plamen Nounev MP of GERB proposed amendments to the Interior
Ministry Act's transitional and concluding provisions to the
effect that the mandates of the current Interior Ministry Chief
Secretary and the chairpersons of SATO and the State Agency for
National Security (SANS) be terminated within a month of the
entry into force of the amended Interior Ministry Act, and that
the head of State issue a decree on the Council of Ministers'
proposal for the appointment of new heads of the three
institutions.

Hamid Hamid and Chetin Kazak MPs of the Movement for Rights and
Freedoms (MRF) voiced disagreement with the proposal on the
grounds that it violated Parliament's rules of procedure.
According to them, the proposal had not been tabled in writing
between the first and second reading of the draft amendments to
the Interior Ministry Act within the deadline set by the rules
of procedure.

Atanas Merdzhanov MP of BSP - Left Bulgaria described GERB's
proposal as a provocation to the democratic separation of
powers, and said that there will be counteraction on the part of
his parliamentary group.

The MRF and BSP - Left Bulgaria called on the National Assembly
Chair to not put to the vote GERB's proposal. After a break of
half an hour, Nounev withdrew the proposal.

Interior Minister Vesselin Vouchkov thanked the parliamentary
groups for their support for the amendments to the Interior
Ministry Act, and noted that this year the intelligence services
should finally have their legislative basis.

Commenting on the newly adopted amendments concerning the
Interior Ministry Chief Secretary and the heads of SANS and
other services in the security system, Maya Manolova MP of BSP -
Left Bulgaria said that the power holders's goal is to take
hold of all power structures. At present, the Bulgarian citizens
are witnessing disgraceful deals and transgression of the law
for the distribution of the important positions in the State
between the four parties in the governing coalition, Manolova
said. One of the first examples of these attempts on the part of
the formations in power was the National Audit Office Act. In
her words, a difficult bargaining is underway between the
parties of the ruling majority on how to distribute the five
leading positions at the National Audit Office. There are also
deals for taking hold of SANS, the position of Interior Ministry
Chief Secretary and others, which will afterwards be utilized
for personal use, Manolova said.