Almost three months after it was appointed by Parliament, the committee on the archives of the former communist State Security police and People’s Army finally got a home.

On June 28, the Government media office said in a statement that the committee will occupy the second and third floors of a building at Sofia’s 1 Vrabcha Street, next to the opera house.

Although the committee had not yet moved out from its temporary “residence” in Parliament, the news that it was getting its own premises was welcomed by its chairperson Evtim Kostadinov.

He had complained time and again over the past two and a half months that, lacking a building, the committee’s hands were tied.
Kostadinov also has complained frequently that state institutions, especially the Interior Ministry, were not co-operating with his committee.

As The Sofia Echo reported on June 15, Kostadinov requested a meeting with Interior Minister Roumen Petkov. The reason was a slowing down of rendering of information about the ministry’s involvement in the former State Security.

On April 12, Kostadinov sent a letter to Petkov to which by June 13 there had been no response. After Kostadinov’s request was leaked to the media, a meeting took place.

Answering to reporters, Petkov showed more than goodwill about co-operation.

“The ministry is ready to send 90 per cent of the former State Security archives to the committee,” Petkov said.

He said that within three days he would send the materials on Constitutional Court members, members of the Supreme Judicial Council and the Ombudsman, who were being reviewed by the committee.

This move by Petkov led to announcements that some former constitutional court members had been agents of State Security.

Next on the checklist will be magistrates and after that, candidate mayors in the municipal elections in October.   

A quick overview of the committee’s work in the past two months shows that somewhere between the lack of its own building and the lack of good co-operation with the institutions, the committee has managed to make the news for several times.

Since April the list of “exposed” former agents of the communist secret services has been growing longer.

Out of the 145 candidates in Bulgaria’s May 20 elections for members of the European Parliament, six turned out to be linked to the communist services. With the three former constitutional judges “revealed” to have been former agents, the list grew to nine.

Beyond doubt, the committee’s intention to investigate the pasts of public figures such as editors-in-chief of print and TV media will gather more interest. When exactly these checks will start is still unknown.