The Parliamentary Committee for Control over the Services adopted at first reading both draft amendments to the Law on National Security Service. The projects are “There are such people” and “Stand up BG! We are coming “, which provides for limiting the circle of people who use security from the service and specialized transport.
The possibility that the Bulgarian patriarch would not be guarded by the National Security Service (NSS) provoked a sharp dispute.
“How important is the patriarch for national security?” What part of national security is he? Will Eastern Orthodoxy cease to exist? To the joy of everyone and especially of the Bulgarian taxpayer, specialized transport or protection of a religious leader – I just find this disgraceful! ”, said Nikolay Hadjigenov from IBGNI.
Gen. Emil Tonev, who is the head of the National Security Service, said: “I propose to consider the possibility of this person being guarded. Orthodoxy is the religion in the Constitution. From then on, I believe that the patriarch is a symbol of the state. But after you accept it in another way, vote for it and remove it, “he told lawmakers. This is a principled position and not because the spiritual leader of the Bulgarian nation needs protection, but because it is right (principle). I ask the Bulgarian citizens to pay serious attention to the behavior of Nikolay Hadjigenov and his parliamentary group – “Stand up.BG!”, Which purposefully destroy the traditional Bulgarian values, moral and spiritual foundations of the Bulgarian nation, which have preserved Bulgaria in all difficult years and centuries. … “.
Patriarch Neophyte did not want to be guarded by the NSS, said the office of St. Synod for “24 hours” after the statement of Nikolay Hadjigenov that the church has the opportunity to provide him with transport.
Even late Patriarch Maxim refused security from the NSS at a time when the service was not regulated by law, and used only specialized transport.
However, the majority of deputies do not agree with Hadjigenov. According to Nikolay Radulov, ITN expects “waves of terrorism, which makes the leaders of Orthodoxy endangered.”
According to the new texts of the Law on NSS, the service should guard only the President, the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the National Assembly. Outside the circle of protected persons remain the Chief Prosecutor, the Presidential Administration, the President’s wife, members of the Council of Ministers, the Mayor of Sofia and the Bulgarian Patriarch (although according to the state protocol of the Republic of Bulgaria he is ranked 5th after the President, the President of National Assembly, Prime Minister and Vice President).
