Ex Bulgaria Secret Agents in National Protection Service

The Files Commission, chaired by Evtim Kostadinov (pictured here), has revealed that the majority of the high-ranking officials in the National Protection Service are former collaborators of the communist secret police. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's Files Commission has released Tuesday the names of 73 high-ranking National Protection Service officials who have been collaborators of the former communist secret police.

The Files Commission is an independent state institution which is in charge of exposing to the public ex collaborators or agents of the communist State Security.

It has inspected 134 files of NSO officials that have occupied important posts between 1990 and 2010. Former secret agents or collaborators to the State Security during communism include present-day heads and deputy heads of NSO, heads of departments and different NSO sectors.

Hence more than 50 percent of the high ranking officials of the Bulgaria's National Protection Service have worked for the secret police of the former communist regime.

NSO is the second state institution that is being investigated by the Commission.

Last week the Files Commission started inspecting if officers who worked for the Interior Ministry between 1990 and 2010 have been collaborators of the State Security (aka DS).

The Commission has been working its way alphabetically because of the large number of names who are subject to the inspection – over 6 000 people.

The 70 names released Wednesday have come out from among 471 policemen whose names start with the letter “D”; they have brought the total number of Interior Ministry officers in 1990-2010 who have been involved with the State Security to 469.

The inspection includes persons who have occupied or occupy at present high-ranking Interior Ministry positions such as: chief secretary, director-generals, deputy director-generals, directors, deputy directors, heads of regional police directorates, heads of departments, and heads of sectors.

The inspection of the top employees of the Interior Ministry is the most large-scale investigation of a state institution carried out by the Files Commission with respect to the affiliation with the former State Security.

This week the Files Commission is expected to release its sixth report after inspecting the Interior Minister officers whose name start with the letter “E”.

Bulgaria's other special service institutions are also prone to inspection, including the State Security Agency (DANS), the National Intelligence Service, Bulgaria's Military Intelligence and Counterintelligence.

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