No Chance Dogan's Failed Assassin Acted Alone - Bulgaria's Ex Security Chief

Ex head of Bulgaria's National Security Organization NSO, Gen. Atanas Atanasov. Photo by BGNES

There is 1% chance that Oktay Enimehmedov, who attempted to assassinate Bulgarian ethnic Turkish leader Ahmed Dogan, acted alone, according to Gen. Atanas Atanasov, former head of Bulgaria's National Security Organization (NSO).

Ahmed Dogan, founder and leader of the DPS party ("Movement for Rights and Freedoms"), was the target of an attack right on the floor of a party conference on Saturday by 25-year-old Oktay Enimehmedov, also a Bulgarian citizen from ethnic Turkish origin. However, the gas pistol that Enimehmedov pointed at Dogan's head misfired.

"There is 1% chance this boy acted alone. My version is that somebody got worried that Dogan was about to quit politics," Gen. Atanasov commented Monday on bTV, adding that there are some circles interested in having Dogan as DPS leader.

He added that one of Dogan's most controversial statements back in 2009 – that he was the man – back then as a coalition partner in Bulgaria's government – redistributing "the portions" in the state – did boost the vote for GERB, the now ruling party of Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov who is seen as an opponent to Dogan.

"There are business circles who have taken advantage of Dogan in politics," said Atanasov, who is himself a member of the rightist opposition Democrats for Strong Bulgaria party of former PM Ivan Kostov.

Atanasov believes that the attack against Dogan was aimed at disrupting the DPS conference at which he planned to announce his resignation, and thus preventing him from resigning. After the failed attempt on Dogan's life, the ethnic Turkish leader did announce his resignation and nominated his closest deputy, Lyutvi Mestan, the latter becoming the second DPS leader ever since the party was founded in 1990.

"This was a media demonstration but Dogan is guarded by the National Security Organization. If that man had an actual gun Dogan would have been killed," Gen. Atanasov explained, describing the performance of the NSO guards as "total failure".

"They shouldn't even have let that man get up on the platform," he added, voicing his suspicion that the government is covering up the failures of NSO because the present NSP chief Todor Kozheykov was a personal bodyguard of Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

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