Bulgaria's Right, Left Univocal in Dissing Govt's Rule of Law Record

Domestic | January 11, 2011, Tuesday // 16:07|  views

Bulgarian ex-PMs, rightist Ivan Kostov (1997-2001, front) and leftist Sergey Stanishev (2005-2009, back). Photo (dated July 2008) by BGNES

Bulgaria's traditional arch-rivals, the rightist Blue Coalition and the Bulgarian Socialist Party, have independently issued indignant statements of protest against the level of unmotivated secret surveillance of state officials.

Over the past weeks, a number of alleged secret surveillance records have leaked, which involve officials as high up as FinMin Simeon Djankov, Customs Agency director Vanyo Tanov, and ruling GERB party front-bench MPs Iskra Fidosova and Menda Stoyanova.

All through December and January, the Blues, who have been this far supporting of the GERB cabinet, have been more and more vocal against what they argue is the unwarranted level of spying and surveillance, which according to them is leading the country away from the normal rule of law and is not only unconstitutional, but is also setting the stage for dirty games and rule by force.

Tuesday Blue Coalition MP Dimo Gyaurov went as far as to say he is "ashamed" of the actions of the cabinet, in particular of the position of PM Boyko Borisov that officials need to be spied and pressured upon in order to do their work well.

Gyaurov also expressed exasperation at the "shameful" behavior of ministers, who, "like kid who have done wrong, walk up to the media and explain that there is nothing better than being suveilled."

Blue Coalition co-leaders Ivan Kostov and Martin Dimitrov have also been expressing severe discontent at the ways the GERB cabinet is exploiting special surveillance and have gone as far as requesting the resignation of Minister of Interior.

The Blues are not the only ones taking up this position, as the leftist opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party - the Blues' bitter rival in the 1990s - have been also stauchly against the level of spying going on in the country.

Tuesday Socialist leader and former PM Sergey Stanishev said that PM Borisov's position on surveillance is "frightful" and questioned the level of actual democracy and constitutionalism present in Bulgaria.

"When you have someone secretly surveilled, that means that he or she is either under investigation for a serious crime, or else that what is going on is illegal and aims at political control and blackmail," stated the leader of the Socialists.

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Tags: Bulgarian Socialist Party, Blue Coalition, Sergey Stanishev, Ivan Kostov, Martin Dimitrov, Dimo Gyaurov, Iskra Fidosova, Menda Stoyanova, Vanyo Tanov, Simeon Djankov, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, Boyko Borisov, GERB, GERB cabinet, special surveillance devices, rule of law

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