Appointment of Bulgaria's New Security Chief Not Coordinated with Partner Services – Socialist MP

Rumen Petkov, MP of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and former Interior Minister, photo by BGNES

Rumen Petkov, MP of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and former Interior Minister, has argued that the failure to coordinate the appointment of the new as Chair of the State Agency for National Security (DANS) with partner services was a crude mistake.

In a Sunday interview for the Focus news agency, Petkov noted that the reactions of the French and British Ambassadors to Bulgaria to Delyan Peevski's appointment as DANS Chair had highlighted the misstep.

"I have taken part in that kind of consultations and talks. Nobody is trying to interfere in our domestic affairs in any way, but these are highly sensitive matters and it is of primary importance to our partners who they will be working with. The reaction of the two Ambassadors came after the assurances of Stanishev and others that the step had been coordinated and that Peevski had received adamant support," Petkov noted.

"I do not understand the purpose behind all of this. It is happening at the expense of Peevski, the socialist party, and Bulgaria," he declared.

He suggested that the first thing to do was to organize a solid debate on a number of nominees in Parliament.

Petkov said that the candidates had to be given the opportunity to present their platforms and priorities and plans for cooperation with partner services before the specialized parliamentary committees and in the plenary hall.

The socialist MP insisted that the debate would alleviate social tension and reassure partner security services of Bulgaria's responsible approach to such crucial decisions.

On Friday, Bulgaria's Parliament appointed Delyan Peevski, media mogul and MP of ethnic Turkish party Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), as head of DANS, stirring a wave of protests across the country.

The step caused President Rosen Plevneliev to ask Parliament to reconsider the decision.

Plevneliev also scheduled an extraordinary meeting of the Consultative Council for National Security for June 20.

On Saturday, Peevski issued a statement saying that he was ready to step down "in the name of citizens, society and the state."

However, the move failed to curb the massive peaceful protests in the country, with thousands gathering in Sofia and other major cities for a second day on Saturday.

Many protesters demanded the resignation of the Socialist-led government of Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski, which took over at the end of May.

Protests against Peevski's appointment are to continue Sunday in a number of major Bulgarian cities.

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