Blue Coalition leaders, Martin Dimitrov (l) from UDF and Ivan Kostov (r) from DSB, are demanding the ousting of the Minister of Interior. Photo by BGNES
Bulgaria's right-wing Blue Coalition is demanding from Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, to remove Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, from his post and from the cabinet.
The Coalition issued a statement Wednesday after their meeting, saying Tsvetanov must be replaced in order for the government to succeed in its fight against organized crime.
The grounds of the two parties in the Coalition – Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) and Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) are: incompetency, poor management, failure to counter petty crimes; using the police for personal vendettas and for PR actions; leaking classified information and threatening national security; extensive use of special surveillance devices (SRS); being the first Interior Minister since 1989 to systematically violate citizens' rights through police brutality and violence; violation of the basic principles of democracy such as using the police to interfere in the voting process; replacing the security system with a system based on fear.
DSB leader, Ivan Kostov, said that if Borisov decides to not replace Tsvetanov, he will end up being the one to bear full responsibility.
UDF leader, Martin Dimitrov, pointed out the Blue Coalition had received all resignations they asked for – of two health ministers (Bozhidar Nanev and Anna-Maria Borisova) and of the Minister without Portfolio for Bulgarians Abroad, Bozhidar Dimitrov.
The right-wing statement comes just a day before the expected release of the results from the prosecutor's probe in the way SRS are used in Bulgaria. The Parliamentary Subcommittee for SRS Control already announced their report, listing a number of violations and holding Tsvetanov and the Director of the State Agency for National Security (DANS), Tsvetlin Yovchev, accountable.
Tsvetanov, who oversees the entire security system, including DANS, declared he has no intentions of resigning even if the prosecutor's probe establishes leeks of SRS.