Interior Minister Demerjiev: Bomb Threats in Bulgaria Linked to Internal Political Disclosures
Interior Minister Ivan Demerjiev linked bomb threats in the country to specific political events, including disclosures about Peevski's flights. Authorities expect to identify those responsible.
Demerjiev: Bomb Threats Follow Political Disclosures in Parliament
Interior Minister Ivan Demerjiev has linked the recurring bomb threats in Bulgaria to specific domestic political developments, stating that authorities expect to identify those responsible. This was reported by Novinite.com based on an interview the minister gave to Nova TV.
Demerjiev described a pattern in the timing of the threats — they appeared in certain periods. Authorities had reacted with heightened vigilance, thorough checks, and coordination with partner agencies.
"This obliges us to be extremely vigilant and to conduct our checks with great thoroughness. Naturally, those responsible have taken steps to cover their tracks. However, we are actively working on the case and I am confident that we will achieve results. We have notified all our partner agencies, ensuring full coordination, and I expect us to identify the specific individuals behind these threats," Demerjiev said.
The minister pointed to a direct link between the threats and information released during political events in the country. As a specific example, he cited disclosures about Peevski's flights made from the parliamentary podium, after which the number of bomb threats rose sharply and repeatedly.
"I link the bomb threats on our territory to specific events in Bulgaria. For example, when data about Peevski's flights were announced from the parliamentary podium, there followed a sharp, immediate, and multiple increase in these bomb threats. And in other cases, when similar information has become public knowledge, it has been accompanied by a sudden rise in bomb threats — but in none of these cases has an explosive device been found. We are concerned about the correlation between these threats and the facts that come to light — facts that clearly do not suit someone," said the interior minister.
Arrests of Mayors of Belitsa and Sungurlare
The interview also touched on the detention of the mayors of Belitsa and Sungurlare. Demerjiev rejected any connection between the police operations and the elections, emphasising that the investigation had been ongoing for a long time and authorities had been obliged to act.
"We have been working on this case for a very long time. It is in no way connected to the elections. We were obliged to take action," he said.
Demerjiev referred to the investigation against "Water Supply Burgas," which led investigators to a company directly linked to one of the two mayors. During the checks, authorities established that the company had won hundreds of public contracts across the country for extremely significant sums without fully meeting its contractual obligations.
"During the investigation, information emerged indicating that the funds — siphoned off both through Water Supply Burgas and through other contracts — were being channelled to specific individuals," Demerjiev said.
The minister stated that investigators were continuing their work to establish the full chain of responsibility, and rejected the idea that operations should be halted because of ongoing elections.
"We are continuing our work because the entire chain must be unravelled. We cannot simply stop working at a particular moment just because elections are being held," he added.
According to Demerjiev, police decisions were determined by the progress of operations and investigations that had been running for months, not by the electoral calendar.
Salaries and Cuts in the Security Sector
In an earlier interview with BTA, the interior minister stated that the current state of the state budget does not allow for salary increases, including in the defence and security sectors. Demerjiev emphasised that employees in these areas deserved higher pay, and said the government would seek to provide growth through the next budget.
He added that he had held several rounds of talks with trade unions and did not believe they were surprised by the lack of an increase.
"All reasonable people in the trade unions understand the situation," Demerjiev said.
The minister also ruled out cuts among permanent police officers, noting that potential savings could be found in other parts of the ministry — in administration and among employees not performing police functions.
"We will not be cutting permanent police officers," he said categorically.
Source: Novinite.com