A Decent Dissident Plan Gone Awry

Novinite Insider » EDITORIAL | Author: Milena Hristova |March 27, 2007, Tuesday // 00:00
Bulgaria: A Decent Dissident Plan Gone Awry Photo by Yuliana Nikolova (Sofia Photo Agency)

There are two things in life that one should never compromise with, people say - health and dignity. In private life, I would add. In political life sticking firmly to the principle often spells the death of those who walk too proud.

Petar Stoyanov, holding his head too high, decided Tuesday the biggest right-wing party that he leads will not have a rep on the commission that will have the final say on documents related to the former state security service. I fully agree with Stoyanov that albeit controversial, dissident Georgi Konstantinov was the perfect figure to stand on the commission. Yet I fail to see how he could possibly be the only one in the United Democratic Forces to be fit for the service.

The commission was supposed to be Bulgaria's final and most earnest reckoning with its totalitarian past. An attempt to finally throw light on the murky corners of the communist past.

I was not an optimist when Bulgaria's parliament was adopting the provisions of the bill with an endless series of "buts" making it highly improbable that light will be shed on the system of political dictatorship, the money transferred abroad, the initial accumulation of capital and the first steps of organized crime.

I am not an optimist because the release of the files is hopelessly late and will hardly impact any of the political parties.

And I will not be an optimist when the commission is formed with so much power given in the hands of a handful of people.

Yet it was in the hands of the opposition to make the best of a bad deal. And Stoyanov failed it.

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