Nearly half of all Bulgarian Ambassadors have been collaborators or agents of the former Communist State Security, Bulgaria's special panel, investigating the communist-era police files, known as the Files' Commission, announced Tuesday.

The law mandates checks of Ambassadors, Consuls, and Deputy Directors of diplomatic missions. The probe involved 462 diplomats. 191 were exposed for their "dark Communist past."

Forty of the 191 hold current diplomatic assignments. The long list of places, in which present Bulgarian Ambassadors have turned out to be former State Security agents, includes: Great Britain, Germany, Italy, UN (New York and Geneva), Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey, Russia, China, Sweden, Romania, Norway, Japan, Qatar, Kuwait, Syria, Egypt, Bosnia, Greece, the Vatican, Slovenia, Slovakia, the Bulgarian representation in Kosovo, Albania, Georgia, Armenia and Venezuela, among others.

The news made headlines in foreign media and set on fire many in the country - the Bulgarian right-wing Blue Coalition and a number of Bulgarian NGOs already demanded from Bulgaria's centrist GERB government to recall all Bulgarian diplomats, who turned out to be former Communist State Security agents.

Bulgaria's current Foreign Affairs Minister, Nikolay Mladenov, became so outraged that he wrote on his pages in Twitter и Facebook social networks: "I am speechless! I feel great anger burning inside me and my determination turns unwavering."

Righteous furry, even though a little bit exaggerated - despite the staggering number of diplomatic Communist State Security collaborators, their invasion of our foreign missions is, actually, neither news nor shock.

As Solomon Passy, Bulgaria's ex-Foreign Minister (2001-2005) said before Bulgarian media Wednesday - "the list of Bulgarian Ambassadors and Consuls, who have been agents of the former Communist State Security, has been known by all recent Foreign Ministers."

Others were quick to draw parallels between WikiLeaks and the File's Commission revelations.

"Aren't you following WikiLeaks? Don't American diplomats have spying assignments? There is nothing wrong with Bulgarian diplomats to have had worked for the intelligence and the counter intelligence," another former Foreign Minister (2005-2009) from the Bulgarian Socialist Party, and current Member of the European Parliament, Ivaylo Kalfin, pointed out.

The closest and only resemblance of our home-bred diplomatic scandal with WikiLeaks is the lack of stunning surprises. Yes, many, most, maybe all diplomats are tied to intelligence and secret service agencies, including those from the US, the EU, and other NATO member states, but NOT to the Communist ones.

The fact so many of Bulgaria's highest-ranking diplomats have been affiliated with the totalitarian, repressive structures, which were modeled after the powerful Soviet KGB, and ruled by it, tarnishes Bulgaria's image in the EU and NATO, and rises doubts among allies about its loyalty and trustworthiness.

(Mladenov just informed that an EU country's Foreign Minister has already contacted him to ask whether the Bulgarian Ambassador in his or her State will be withdrawn.)

These ties of scores of diplomats with the Communist regime also show Bulgaria has been very slow in reforming the former services, walking at a snail pace, even compared with the other former Soviet Union satellites.

Mladenov vows the Bulgarian government will propose to the President to recall all envoys, who have collaborated with the former Communist State Security, from the country's diplomatic missions abroad and promises new legislative measures to ban the appointment of former agents as diplomats.

Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, further stated that all Bulgarian Ambassadors who have turned out to be former State Security agents must be recalled.

Admirable intentions and resolution, however, President, Georgi Parvanov, who has been also exposed as a former Communist State Security agent, already declared firm opposition to any attempts to dismiss his "fellow-colleagues" in diplomatic missions, calling the move "purge."

Obviously, if Borisov manages to take this battle to the end, he might remain in modern Bulgarian history with something even greater than building the country's highways and infrastructure, as is his own wish.

Ironically enough, on the same day the Files Commission made the headlines, six former communist and current EU nations, including Bulgaria, requested from Brussels to push for a ban on the denial of the crimes of their States' old regimes, stating the victims had been forgotten by western countries.

"Public condoning, denial and gross trivialization of totalitarian crimes should be criminalized," the letter, signed by Mladenov, reads.

Another right move, but along with getting rid of former Communist agents working as diplomats abroad, it is high time to take a look locally.

As a first - stop doing one thing for the sake of our image before our foreign partners and another for national politics and upcoming elections. (Remember how, the same Borisov, about a month ago, redeemed former Communist dictator, Todor Zhivkov, saying he is not forgotten because he had done many great things for Bulgaria?)

As a second – become finally and truly intolerant to former Communist State Security agents swarming our Presidential Office, Parliament, police, DANS, ministries, all other Bulgarian State institutions, and the media, among others.

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