Comment by Emilia Milcheva:
The very next day after the big protest on “Independence” Square, Delyan Peevski, who was sanctioned for corruption, has triggered changes for a quick change of the heads of the services. The mechanism was laid down by his party, DPS-New Beginnings, in the transitional and final provisions of a bill on the exchange of information between the Ministry of Internal Affairs and European services.
It seems that civil discontent has shaken the backstage centers to accelerate the control of national security. Someone is in a hurry to solidify positions before the balance has changed, which is evidence of tension in the ruling coalition - and/or instability of power. The goal is to change the leadership of the services in order to ensure (new) control over them before possible changes in the political situation.
A month ago, in order to overcome the president in appointing the heads of the special services, the ruling coalition - GERB-SDF, BSP, “There is such a people” (ITN) and MRF-NN, changed the law and its decrees became redundant.
The plan
The draft law, used as a tool by Delyan Peevski's people, has been pending in parliament since June, and MRF-NN have submitted their proposals during its discussion for second reading. They plan to begin a procedure for selecting new leaders of the State Agency “National Security” (SANS), the State Agency “Intelligence” (DAR) and the State Agency “Technical Operations” (DATO). What is even more scandalous is that with the opening of the procedure, their powers are terminated.
On social networks, the co-chairman of “Yes, Bulgaria” Bozhidar Bozhanov described the changes as “made on the knee” and “legislative vandalism”. “When you are incompetent, legislative vandalism becomes even uglier and 2-3 amendments are made to the same laws within a month”, he wrote.
Currently, DAR is headed by Antoine Gechev (a former employee of “Military Information”), and DATO - by Biser Borisov. Both were appointed by the president's official offices. SANS was also led by a cadre, a presidential nominee - Plamen Tonchev, "transferred" in May to head the Files Commission. Since then, the head of counterintelligence has been Denyo Denev, associated with Peevski, whom the Council of Ministers also proposed as the head. His hearing on November 20 in the parliamentary Committee on Internal Security was not impressive, and the vote on his candidacy in the plenary hall has not yet taken place.
In the last 3-4 years, presidential appointments have dominated control over the services. The need for changes in the legislation, so that the Council of Ministers could propose management of the services and the parliament could approve them, was spoken about at the end of 2022 by the then party leaders - of "Yes, Bulgaria" Hristo Ivanov and of "We Continue the Change" Kiril Petkov.
And in October 2023, under the government of Nikolay Denkov (PP), the PP-DB submitted a bill that abolished the presidential decree when appointing the heads of intelligence and counterintelligence. The same mechanism was proposed for the head of military intelligence - if he is a civilian. Within two months of the law coming into force, the incumbents had to be elected, but GERB, then a partner in the government, opposed the project, which was also supposed to take away the NSO from the president in favor of the Council of Ministers.
The consequences
The appointment of heads of intelligence and law enforcement services based on political, rather than professional, criteria turns them into instruments of short-term party interests. This leads to the collection of information about political opponents, illegal surveillance and wiretapping for the purpose of compromising and blackmail. The services have at their disposal vast amounts of information on vote-buying schemes, drug networks and illegal trafficking, money laundering, cybercrimes, and more. This information can be hidden, highlighted, and directed on demand.
In Bulgaria's recent history, the appointment of Delyan Peevski as head of the National Security Agency in 2013, during the BSP-DPS government, is the most brazen in the history of political interference in national security. The shamelessness with which it was carried out sparked mass protests that were revived again with thousands of people taking to Independence Square on November 26.
Tie-ups with parties weaken institutions and turn them into instruments of short-term party interests.
The current rush to replace the leadership of the intelligence services is also dictated by a panic that the stability of the government is cracking. Control over institutions that exchange sensitive information with EU and NATO partners can provide an opportunity for politicians sanctioned for corruption to present themselves as reliable and particularly useful allies. For example, if the National Security Agency has to approve a candidate buyer for the assets of “Lukoil” in Bulgaria in a fight for redistribution of the energy market.
This cannot silence civil discontent
Control over the services can produce convenient puppets, conceal dependencies and serve behind-the-scenes interests. But it cannot compensate for the lack of public trust, nor can it silence civil discontent. After the protest in the “triangle of power” Peevski had threatened that he too could block the parliament every day. “Do you want me to block the parliament every day and shout down with my supporters?! I don't have fewer supporters!“, he had told journalists.
It won't work. Fear fills buses, not squares.