Promises of full disclosure about people who worked with Bulgaria's communist-era secret services have been trimmed back.

In effect, the dossiers of anyone who headed a department, division or unit of the military or civilian security services after July 16 1991 will remain classified. The date was that of the official shutdown of Bulgaria's communist security services.

The names of all others who worked with the communist political police and intelligence service will be officially revealed.

These provisions were approved by Parliament on December 6 when MPs adopted draft legislation on opening the archives of the former communist political police and intelligence services of the former Bulgarian Peoples Army.

The MPs' decision came after more than a week of acrimonious public debate as to whether the dossiers of people related to the communist security services should be fully opened or whether there should be a more flexible approach.

What to do about the dossiers of people who had worked for the country's security services before 1991, and of those who stayed on after 1991, was a vexed question.

Approval of the text as it stands prevents the public from knowing which current secret police officers or undercover agents had links to the communist services. At present, the names of these two categories of people are protected from disclosure by law and it seems that this will continue to be the case.

The bill merges three different earlier draft bills on the same subject drawn up by the centre-right Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria (DSB), and by two parties from the tripartite governing coalition, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) and Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP).

The draft bill tabled in Parliament on October 5 provided for a board consisting of nine members to establish whether politicians, prosecutors, judges, state clerks and journalists had links to the former communist police. This meant that the past of thousands of Bulgarian citizens would be investigated. The bill envisaged that even the names of agents who had been reactivated after the fall of communism would be announced as well as the names of those mentioned in the communist archives.

Even given these ambitious goals, everything seemed to be on track. Until November 30, at least.

Until then, it seemed that the draft bill would make a smooth transition into becoming law, given that it had more than enough support from both the ruling majority and opposition. Then BSP MP Tatyana Doncheva suddenly proposed an amendment. The motion was to not declassify the files of current Bulgarian ambassadors and special services department heads and deputy heads who are still in service.

The reason offered was the need to protect Bulgaria's national security and not to expose agents currently working abroad. 

Reaction was visceral. The BSP was immediately accused by right-wing MPs of trying to protect people who had worked for the communist police.

Said DSB MP Atanas Atanasov: "I don't get it. We will disclose information about high profile public officials such as the President and the Prime Minister but will keep people working for the services under cover. In the end, MPs voted to postpone voting on the Doncheva amendment.

The drama reached full scale after the parliamentary sitting ended. Speaking to journalists, Doncheva said: "It was not my idea to propose the amendment. I just represent what some people in my party (BSP) think but are not brave enough to say it out loud". Interestingly enough, Doncheva's personal position appears to be to oppose her own amendment. "Unfortunately politics is a disgusting game and sometimes you have to have some monkey business," Doncheva said. This was when the series of negotiations started.

It was a very strange situation for the ruling tripartite coalition. On one hand there was the BSP, whose Doncheva proposed the amendment. On the other hand were the BSP's two coalition partners, the National Movement Simeon II (NMSII) and the MRF, that wanted complete and unlimited  opening of the files. The bargaining started and the bets were off.           

On December 1, a message came from Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, who is also the BSP leader.

"There should not be such a great emotion and extremism involved in the issue," he told journalists. "After all the state has its interests to protect and there are professionals who work to do so. I am sure that MPs will show enough wisdom to find the most suitable solution."  

Doncheva's words on December 1 on Bulgarian National Television apparently showed that she was not quite on the same page as Stanishev. "There is such unprecedented pressure coming from forces above," Doncheva said, in an apparent reference to President Georgi Purvanov, who is Stanishev's immediate predecessor as leader of the BSP.

Referring to her amendment, Doncheva said: "I did this because I wanted to, which does not mean that I like it". Pressure or no pressure, the "consultations" as some MPs described them, on the subject continued on December 4.

Meeting in Stanishev's office, the heads of all Bulgaria's security services and MPs from the ruling majority discussed the draft bill. The only information that leaked to journalists after the meeting came from General Kircho Kirov, head of the National Intelligence Service. He told news website mediapool.bg: "The meeting was very useful and the current Bulgarian secret services are very pleased with it". It appeared to be a hint that some agreement had been reached, especially given that a week earlier Kirov had opposed the complete opening of the dossiers.      

This was why it was not much of a surprise when, on December 5, Parliament's committee on internal affairs and public order accepted Doncheva's amendment. This time the NMSII and the MRF showed a different position on the issue, very close to that of the BSP. Apparently the negotiations had produced results.

Sensing the inevitable, journalists and public figures organised a gathering in front of Parliament on December 6, the day of the final voting on the amendment.

The protesters called for the complete opening of the files of the former communist secret service and that there be no protection for current ambassadors or agents. While the MPs were debating inside, the people outside were gathering signatures.

Strangely enough the people received support from Tsvetan Tsvetanov, leader of the GERB party founded by Sofia mayor Boiko Borissov on December 3.

"We want all dossiers to be opened regardless of people's current status," Tsvetanov told The Sofia Echo. "I do not think that this will endanger Bulgaria's national security or interests. Furthermore I think that if someone has a dark past and he is still working for the secret services he is very vulnerable and threatens the country's national security." The MPs thought otherwise. With 107 votes in favour, 42 against and nine abstentions, Parliament approved and adopted Doncheva's amendment.

During the four-hour debate, the opposition said that the ruling coalition did not have the will to open all dossiers of those who had belonged to the communist secret services.

The dossier battle seems to have been lost - or won, depending where you stand.

The turnout for the protest in front of Parliament may be evidence that the question of dossiers might have been a little bit too late. No more than 30 people gathered. There were more than 6000 signatures, but the lack of real public pressure showed that Bulgarians have something else on their minds than dossiers, less than 20 days before the country joins the European Union.