This morning, Colonel Nikolai Markov—a former officer of the National Service for Protection (NSO) and an expert on national security—clearly stated on BTV who bears responsibility under the National Service for Protection Act and that this responsibility is shared between the president and the government. It is time to lay the cards on the table rather than measuring strength through TV appearances, interviews, and such.
It is not Radev who should be asking why Dogan and Peevski are being protected; rather, we, the citizens, expect that answer from him. If what N. Markov said is true—that even the president might be denied access to classified information that necessitates the protection of certain politicians—this is very alarming. It implies that the president is merely a “figurehead,” with apologies and no personal offense intended toward Radev. If we are truly a parliamentary democracy, not a facade, the National Assembly should have access to all information, even the most classified in the country. There is no reason for that deputy—whose name I didn’t bother to remember, the chair of the parliamentary committee that “controls” the NSO—to try to mislead public opinion by suggesting that the ruling party has no involvement in determining who the service protects.
What the head of state did today—calling the commission that determines the list of protected individuals in the country—is the least he could do, but it is too late to absolve himself of responsibility, especially for his inaction on the topic until now. Nikolai Markov clearly pointed out that the “Rosenets” case from July 8 should also be subject to a prosecutor’s investigation. Hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians witnessed how an officer from the NSO desecrated the flag for which hundreds of worthy Bulgarians have died to ensure it NEVER ends up in enemy hands.
I detest the shouting patriotism to the core of my being, but in this case, that NSO officer (a disgrace to the Bulgarian officer corps) who disdainfully threw the national flag into the bushes on the shore must be prosecuted. Moreover, there should be no need for any investigation, as his crime was filmed and shown live on Facebook.
But instead of the prosecutor’s office acting immediately to initiate an investigation without waiting for a signal from anyone, they stormed the building at “Dondukov” 2—unprecedented in the history of our modern state—and began searches in two offices: that of the presidential secretary and one of his advisors. According to a statement from the chief prosecutor, the searches are related to two investigations—one by the military prosecutor’s office and the other by the specialized prosecutor’s office.
Adding to these seemingly coincidental actions of the institutions is the order from the health minister that comes into effect at midnight on July 10. This order reintroduces bans on gatherings of larger groups of people, both indoors and outdoors. As a result, those outraged citizens planning to go tomorrow between 11 AM and 2 PM to the seaside near Rosenets Park to participate in a protest initiative against one of the faces of the hidden power—Ahmed Dogan—and the clique that provides him with protection will effectively find themselves outside the law.
There are few political actions that have the impact of the initiative organized by Hristo Ivanov—the chair of “Yes, Bulgaria” and co-chair of “Democratic Bulgaria.” Yes, we can also call it “political theater.” But such spectacles have a much greater and more震撼的 effect on public consciousness than hundreds of publications, interviews, and investigations. They demonstrate the arrogance and lawlessness in a state seized by the mafia. Nikolai Markov did not randomly refer to the officers of the NSO as not just ordinary employees but as people who are part of Ahmed Dogan’s “family,” where “family” can be understood as synonymous with the godfather’s clan.
The Bulgarian flag was torn from an area that is one hundred percent state property. But it was in close proximity to the oligarchic palaces of the honorary leader of the DPS, a party that is a clone of the State Security. Thus, the desecration of our national flag becomes even more terrifying in the context of this narrative, which raises the chilling question of whether Bulgaria is a sovereign state. And what its future holds.
