Bulgaria's PM Boyko Borisov (R) firmly pledged to fire the discredited diplomats, while the President Georgi Parvanov (L) requested reviewing of each case individually. Photo by BGNES
The Bulgarian government is expected to review a proposal for removal of the 33 Ambassadors, who worked as collaborators or agents of the former Communist State Security, the Bulgarian National Radio reported.
A Presidential order is required for their removal. However, earlier Bulgaria’s President Georgi Parvanov said he will review each case individually.
Georgi Mihov, Bulgaria’s consul-general in the Russian city of St Petersburg was the first “victim” of the revelations. He resigned as a result of the recent scandal.
According to the data announced by Bulgaria's special panel, investigating the communist-era police files, known as the Files' Commission, Mihov collaborated to the State Security under the secret pseudonym Evgeni (Eugene) until 1986. He worked First Main Directorate of the State Security, the one responsible for foreign intelligence.
Ambassadors, Consuls and Deputy Directors of diplomatic missions in the 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,Slovakia, Albania, Georgia, Armenia and Venezuela are among those mentioned as the former Bulgarian State Security's collaborators.
The revelations caused a political turmoil in Bulgaria, as Prime Minister Boyko Borisov firmly pledging to fire the discredited diplomats, while President Georgi Parvanov opposed this option.