Bulgarian MPs Reject Tighter Rules for Exposure of ex-Security Agents

Politics » DOMESTIC | September 2, 2016, Friday // 10:42
Bulgaria: Bulgarian MPs Reject Tighter Rules for Exposure of ex-Security Agents File photo

Lawmakers have turned down a proposal that would have barred authorities from announcing names of people affiliated to the Soviet-era security apparatus without their consent.

The change, put forward by opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), has been rejected by an overwhelming majority of 100-35, with 3 abstentions.

Another alteration initiated by the socialists, that would have abolished the insitution responsible for the disclosure of names of State Security (DS) affiliates, has been declined by voters.

Under the proposed rules, which are yet to be discussed before full Parliament, the archive of the so-called Committee for Disclosing the Documents and Announcing Affiliation of Bulgarian Citizens to the State Security, also known as the Files Committee, would be handed to a new institution, and the committee itself would be abolished.

The BSP had also demanded there should be no obligation for the Committee to make a routine checkup in its archive for people holding certain public offices.

Socialists, whose party is the heir to the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP, the dominant force under Communist rule), maintain the Committee, operating since 2007, instills hatred into society instead of shedding more light on files themselves.

Another long-standing issue has been the military intelligence service's delay in handing over its archives to the Defense Ministry, in a move that would cast more light about public figures' affiliation to the security apparatus.

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Tags: State Security, DS, Files Committee, BSP

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