Interview for FAKTI.bg

Assen Yordanov: If a lustration law had been passed, Bulgaria would not be in this state

"The monstrous plundering of the Bulgarian economy that followed would not have been possible,” says the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of investigative website Bivol
Екип на Биволъ

Interview by Peter Zdravkov (FAKTI.bg

Thirty-two years after 10 November 1989 Bulgaria has changed a lot but at the same time, looking at that change, many more opportunities to transform our country into a normal democracy were missed compared to those that were taken. And today, if you hear any of those pretend-anticommunists and democrats congratulate themselves for “bringing democracy” to this country, bear in mind that with their subservient behaviour in the years after 1989 they made it impossible for Bulgaria to experience a true liberal democracy in all its manifestations.

Thirty-two years later Bulgaria has nothing to celebrate because democracy here is just a facade and the economic and political power is in the hands of those same people who held it before 11 November 1989 – whether directly or through their successors.

To talk about that unpleasant reality, looking back but also analysing the current situation, Fakti reached out to Assen Yordanov, founder and editor-in-chief of investigative journalism website Bivol, who agreed to give us an interview.

We can unequivocally say that Bivol is one of the few independent media in Bulgaria and, along with Bird.bg, they are the only ones doing high-quality independent investigative reporting aimed at uncovering the crimes of various Bulgarian persons of power and oligarchs.

Thanks to Assen Yordanov and the Bivol team, who have exposed staggering levels of misuse of public funds over the years, as well as shocking corruption and dependencies in government institutions, the structures of the mafia controlling developments in Bulgaria have been a little shaken. But although investigative journalism has now passed the ball to the public, civil society can’t seem to find the strength to destroy the criminal powers operating behind the scenes and build a prosperous democratic Bulgaria.

In the paragraphs that follow you can read our interview with Assen Yordanov. Do not stop halfway, even if it seems long, because none of the information contained in it will ever reach you through any television channel. 

– Mr. Yordanov, 32 years after 10 November can we say that the communist regime’s state security structures still have full control over major processes in our country?

– Thirty-two years after 10 November we are unfortunately not living in a genuine democracy. Bulgaria is in this strange state of post-communist society, which is not based on market principles, has no rule of law and, unfortunately, no justice for everyone. Those are the main reasons why young people can’t see a future for themselves here, why the country keeps sinking into a yet deeper demographic, economic and political crisis, public resources keep being plundered and the so-called political class, which has become a plutocratic class, is still on the political stage with the same players and the same faces, just changing their costumes and their masks. And if any new faces are to appear, it is a mandatory requirement that they must still be controlled by those powers behind the scenes, which is the same.

These behind-the-scenes powers comprise structures of the former communist party and the former regime’s state security services. Through their unlimited political power and their proxies they have taken control of all resources and all institutions in Bulgaria, its entire political, financial and economic system.

If we do a recap now, 32 years later, we can say we are living in a country sapped of its lifeblood, an ageing and apathetic nation, whose huge potential in terms of youth and brainpower is draining out, devoid of hope for any freedom of speech or a really fair, non-corrupt judiciary. All of that happened precisely because those behind-the-scenes powers who run the country through their marionettes, controlling all parties in parliament, have no interest in a true democratic rule, in a true market economy, in a government working solely in the public interest and standing in the way of corrupt schemes for plundering public resources.

Is there some sort of national psyche explanation for the fact that we seem unable to free ourselves from the iron grip of the sinister Darzhavna Sigurnost – the state security service of the communist regime – which we can say has now become a well-organised network of individuals and seems to be propagating itself?

– I will start with the last thing you mentioned. Yes, the system propagates through its members’ heirs or successors, through their young proteges. Moreover, they are not physically present in power structures but are still in control of developments, they are still lively enough to do that. One by one they are passing away but their successors remain. A typical young heir of those structures of the sinister state security services is Delyan Peevski, whose influence in Bulgaria is huge. So is Ahmed Dogan’s, he just grew old and was sent into retirement.

As for your question about the national psyche, that is both a product of our historical fate and a factor that shapes our current predicament. As a nation we have lived through two of the most apocalyptic waves in the history of humankind, and we experienced their heaviest and most prolonged versions: Ottoman rule and then communism.

Ottoman rule completely erased Bulgaria’s previous history, all the achievements of that civilisation. And it went on for 500 years. Bulgarian people’s sense of identity was obliterated.

After Istoria Slavyanobolgardkaya (Slav-Bulgarian History, an 18-century manuscript) was written, we had 150 years in which, even though it came much later than in developed European nations, a national identity began to take shape and that was precisely the time when horrible national catastrophes happened, the nation was cruelly torn apart. And before we even got ourselves out of those national catastrophes, communism followed. It inflicted a blow on Bulgarians’ developing national consciousness in its spiritual dimension. That was the worst damage suffered as a result of communism, it erased an entire value system – being Bulgarian, being an Orthodox Christian, living in accordance with Christian virtues. All of that was denounced, it was proclaimed a sin and a communist value system was imposed in a demonic way: dictatorship of the proletariat, the idea that the rich are our enemy, that they must be destroyed, their property seized, that anyone who was against the communist dictatorship was an enemy of their own state and their own nation and had to be persecuted, jailed, killed. You had no right to freely express your opinion, you constantly had to recite the dogma of the party and its slogans. You had no right to have a god – your gods were Dimiter Blagoev, Karl Marx, Georgi Dimitrov, Lenin and the party leaders.

That was a heavy defeat on the demographic, cultural and spiritual level. And after that apocalypse, the fact we are somehow still moving, that we are alive, we are thinking, we still have a spark of awareness that perhaps we have a mission and our existence is not completely meaningless – that is a feat and a miracle.

And to all that I will add 32 years of post-communism. A vampiric post-communism, in which the former communist caste transformed itself into a clandestine power, creating a criminal and monstrous mafia-style system that has been plundering the country’s resources in a most ruthless, arrogant and brutal way, turning the entire Bulgarian population into serfs labouring for the benefit of the red oligarchy.

Bulgarian people have suffered a lot and even the fact that you and I are now talking about this, we care, we try to resist and allow ourselves to believe in the illusion that the good will prevail, is a miracle. Believing in it is our only chance to feel alive and to see a meaning to our existence.

What is your explanation for the fact that Ivan Kostov’s United Democratic Forces (UDF) government, which was backed up by a parliamentary majority, did not initiate lustration to start the real changes that were needed in Bulgaria?

– If a lustration act had been passed, like it was done in Czechia, East Germany and some other countries in the Eastern block, perhaps Bulgaria wouldn’t now be in this predicament at all. The subsequent monstrous plundering of the Bulgarian economy would not have been possible.

The position of the government declared personally by Ivan Kostov – that there shouldn’t be any lustration because by 1997 it was already too late – was the first major disappointment for the democratically minded community, which was hoping for real changes in the public and political life and the way the country was governed. Kostov should give an explanation on that issue but there can’t be any meaningful and logical answer to the question why lustration did not take place.  Ivan Kostov’s lead article in the Democratsia newspaper, explaining that it was too late for lustration, will remain in history as a dark example how in a really irresponsible way the chance to score a victory for democracy in Bulgaria was wasted.

After that, more things happened which showed that the UDF’s intentions were not exactly what people expected them to be. I will mention only two of those things, which are symbolic and defining, and have borne their fruit over the years.

One of them was the sale of Neftohim Burgas – the biggest multifunctional petrochemical plant in Eastern Europe – to Russian corporation Lukoil, a direct exporter of Russian influence. As it established itself in Bulgaria and monopolised the country’s energy sector, Lukoil began to exert a huge political and media influence and in that way an influence over Bulgarian society. Some people will remember that the major newspapers in Bulgaria used to carry the Lukoil logo to the right or to the left of their nameplate because the company was the main sponsor of the larger media in the country. So the entire media concept of those publications, anything that needed to be publicised, was under Lukoil’s control. The company’s influence continued after Simeon II took office as prime minister, when the calculated construction of Boyko Borissov’s public image as the next messiah already began. All Lukoil-sponsored newspapers devoted special attention to that process.

Another important fact is that when the oil refinery was privatised, the deal included large plots of land in the adjoining area. A result of that huge privatisation deal is also the current Dogansaray – Ahmed Dogan’s infamous summer residence. Cape Chukalyata, where the saray is located, was also acquired by Lukoil during Ivan Kostov’s term as prime minister. He is the person who handed over that state property to the Russian company and later on its CEO Valentin Zlatev sold the plot to a company linked to Ahmed Dogan. After that, using money borrowed from Corporate Commercial Bank which was never returned, the current luxury property was built. The saray has since then become a symbol of lawlessness in Bulgaria and played a prominent role in the series of civil protests that erupted in 2020.

Documents show that there were companies from America and the Middle East willing to pay up to 6 billion USD for Neftohim Burgas but it was gifted to the Russians, making the Russian state’s influence in Bulgaria insurmountable.

The second thing I will mention is that it was Kostov’s government that launched the political careers of two individuals – Christo Biserov and Yordan Tsonev – and promoted them to the highest echelons of power. It speaks for itself that when the UDF finally came to their senses and expelled them, they found refuge in the Movement for Rights and Freedoms – the party of the former state security services, where everyone rejected for major political gaffes or corruption scandals ends up. Just like Peevski himself ended up there after his time with Simeon II’s movement.

The fact that Ivan Kostov created a politician like Yordan Tsonev is a manifestation of the deep connections and interdependence of those shady power networks of the former state security with all political parties that have ruled Bulgaria. And those structures are deeply, genetically linked to Russia since communist times and their relationship with Russia’s secret services was never interrupted.

This brings us to nowadays. What do you think of the fact that Rumen Radev is widely trumpeted as a fighter against the mafia when he is in fact surrounded by agents of the former state security services? Even the president of his so-called strategic council, Alexander Marinov, also belongs to that group.

– The fact that the committee which nominated Radev for his second term is teeming with former agents of Darjavna Sigurnost and a similar kind of entourage is very significant. A great majority of Radev’s advisors are also former agents, some of them perhaps active agents. Some of the old representatives of the state security services are classed as active national security agents because the current law protects active agents from being publicly identified. There have been a number of ministers in all governments who were agents but their dossiers were never made public because of that provision in the law. I am not going to name anyone in particular but I am talking about persons of major significance.

It is also a fact that when Radev became president, there was a lot of talk how he was personally advised by Putin’s close aide general Reshetnikov, which is true. Radev’s election campaign was controlled by him, so the links to Russia’s services and structures are very prominent and clear.

When he took office, Rumen Radev continued in the footsteps of his predecessor Rossen Plevneliev – a GERB nominee promoted by Borissov, who served the interests of the status-quo and behind-the-scenes power structures. Just like Plevneliev, Radev also refused to publish the transcripts from the parliamentary hearings on the collapse of Corporate Commercial Bank (CCB), which funded the construction of Dogan’s summer residence. Using money from the same bank, Peevski bought up most of the media, privatised Bulgartabak and the BTK telecom.

That act on behalf of Rumen Radev was a clear sign that he was not an authentic agent of change. Bivol filed court cases against him and we were the first to openly clash with him in his capacity as president. We won against him twice and the court made him publish the transcripts from the CCB bankruptcy hearing. They revealed that the entire political clique of the time had been in agreement over driving CCB into bankruptcy, covering up the tracks and stealing the money. A horrendous crime to which there was no adequate response by either Tsatsarov or Geshev and no one was held responsible. That is something Rumen Radev was covering up.

From that point further Radev’s actions can best be summed up as nothing at all. Over all these years Bivol has been fighting a bloody battle for exposing the truth about Peevski’s secret ownership, his offshore companies, we fought to expose the truth about the colossal misappropriation of EU funds, uncovering the so-called Apartmentgate scandal, the guesthouses scandal. Prior to that we published the recording of a secretly taped conversation between two judges that revealed horrific corruption and dependence within the judiciary. Rumen Radev never took a stand on any of those issues.

And in the end, even after Geshev had been exposed prior to his appointment, Radev was nowhere to be seen or heard during the protests against his appointment as chief public prosecutor. He wasn’t there to take a stand for freedom of speech when Bivol was harrassed by all sorts of inquiries by the prosecution, the investigation authorities, interrogations and tax checks. These haven’t stopped today but he still hasn’t said or done anything.

When the photographs from Borissov’s bedroom were released, which was a setup and a badly executed one – I’m not saying that in fact there are or there aren’t any bundles of cash, gold bullions, etc., – which the Prosecution never investigated, that really inflamed Borissov and he singled out Radev as the main culprit for that act of espionage. I think Borissov’s rage was deliberately provoked, he cued Geshev in and emboldened him for his heavy-handed raid on the Presidency offices. The search of the president’s office was a completely unacceptable act on behalf of the chief public prosecutor, an act that was clearly politically motivated. Rumen Radev saw a danger for himself. And democratically minded people saw a serious danger for Bulgarian democracy, because that was a coup-like event, a manifestation of a public prosecutor’s dictatorship and the street protests very logically and rightfully “errupted” at that point.

If Geshev had not attacked Radev in that way, the president would have never walked out of his office to ride the wave of the protests with his fist in the air. He didn’t do anything like it for so many years before that. Radev himself personally signed the edict appointing Geshev as chief public prosecutor, even though a number of competent experts said he had the option not to sign it. By doing that Rumen Radev advanced the agenda of those behind-the-scenes powers and today he is their chosen candidate.

What is your explanation for the failure of last year’s protests?

– Unfortunately this wave of completely legitimate civic anger, like others before it, was marginalised and co-opted by those same structures of behind-the-scenes power and political engineering. The aim was to transform that wave of anger into convenient and controllable “parties of change”, which could then appear as representatives of the change even though they still consist of the same old faces, the same old political engineers, and dislodge GERB from power. The idea is, however, to replace them with the old “vampires” and “red zombies” from the old BSP–MRF government, linked to Russia’s intelligence services, hybrid structures and propaganda. That would be no change, that would be a new monstrous scam and if Bulgarians do not realise that before it’s too late, we will have to live with the harsh consequences of that scam for many years to come.

When you talk about “controllable parties of change” are you referring to “We Continue the Change”?

– Not only. Before “We Continue the Change” another new party was founded – “Rise up, Thugs out!” headed by Maya Manolova. And she is a politician whose entire background has been in serving the status-quo. I will never forget how Maya Manolova was one of the main voices in defence of Peevski as head of the State Agency for National Security. She was also speaking everywhere on support of Oresharski’s government. And then suddenly she said she had repented, that she was all new and clean and we had to believe her. How can people be expected to believe a politician who makes U-turns on their opinions and constantly adapts to suit the environment? We have seen so many of those. Like Toma Bikov and Anton Todorov, who used to be among the main critics of GERB’s government and then became the party’s champions. Or Krassimir Karakachanov and the IMRO, who have been through all sorts of indiscriminate coalitions – from an agricultural party to Barekov, then Kovachki’s party, then GERB and all of that just to find any conceivable way to get a share of the power.

And what would you say about the party called “There is Such a Nation”, which was part of the last two parliaments?

– I will start by pointing out that the party did not participate in the street protests. Slavy Trifonov himself and his team have always taken their stand over the years and their positions have been consistent. They have spoken out on many social issues. When it comes to Bivol specifically, their TV show was the only one who gave us opportunities to be heard during the worst years of persecution against our outlet and against myself personally.

Considering more recent events, I have to mention that the nomination of a completely discredited former minister from Simeon II’s government as their would-be prime minister, a person linked to the former state security, Nikolay Vassilev, was a grave and fatal mistake. He is the heir of a state-security officer, who served the communist regime. You take a person like that out of the mothballs in the closet of political timelessness and you nominate them for prime minister, telling the public he would bring change… That’s impossible, he will never bring any change because it is clear what kind of policies he carried out in the past and which god he bowed to. After that Trifonov’s party continued with their mistakes, leading to the last parliament’s ultimate failure to form any government whatsoever.

We can’t skip mentioning Democratic Bulgaria – the party that has always purported to be the most authentic fighter for justice.

– Democratic Bulgaria, when they were still the Reformers’ Block, entered into coalition with GERB and were part of their second government. Hristo Ivanov had previously said that was impossible, it wouldn’t happen under any circumstances and he himself would not take part in a coalition with GERB. That was back in 2013 (editor’s note: Hristo Ivanov later became justice minister in Borissov’s second cabinet). Participation in that coalition was later justified as a historic compromise which had to be made in order to reform the judiciary, the functioning of the Supreme Judicial Council and the election of chief public prosecutor. The fact that the Reformers’ Block entered into that coalition gave legitimacy to the government. So when Bivol started publishing the recordings of the conversations between the two magistrates, which revealed staggering dependences and corruption schemes within the public prosecution, the judiciary and executive power, the Reformers’ Block representatives called a press conference and announced that these “dark forces were trying to discredit and topple the government, and to discredit the chief public prosecutor.” And that those dark forces publishing the recordings were committing treasonous and anti-government acts and that Bivol, by publishing those recordings, was in effect undermining the foundations of the Bulgarian state.” They also declared they had “complete confidence in the chief public prosecutor and their full trust was with him in this smear campaign”. For me that was a heavy blow because the people who were meant to support us not only did not, but also called us enemies of the state and stood behind the chief prosecutor. Later on they changed their view. But when you are asking people to have confidence in you, mistakes of this kind, sins even, can never be erased.

But there is also something else I must mention. Democratic Bulgaria is the only political party that ever offered me a leading place on one of their MP candidates lists. That was a sign that in a way they do appreciate what we do at Bivol and what I am doing myself. I declined the offer because accepting it would mean that Bivol would have to be sacrificed so that I could become a member of parliament. I chose the harder way, remaining outside parliament so that Bivol could continue to operate as a free and independent platform. At the same time I have given my approval to Vildan Bayryamova, a journalist at Bivol, so she can run for MP on the Democratic Bulgaria ballot in Kardjali. She has now been elected again and I appreciate that Hristo Ivanov called me to ask if it was OK with me.

Let’s go back to your scepticism regarding “We Continue the Change”. What is the explanation for that?

– It is because the formal mandate bearer is a political party from Burgas (editor’s note: European Middle Class), which “We Continue the Change” said they were going to use only for technical purposes, as they have no time to formally establish their own organisation. The genesis of that party goes back directly to the old structures of the former state security. It was founded to be used as crutches propping up the power of local political authorities. It has supported everyone who held the local power in the area. Mainly GERB but also BSP before that, when Yoan Kostadinov was mayor of Burgas.

They were also active on the national level. Together with the Valeri Someonov’s party – the National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria (NFSB), also founded in Burgas, – European Middle Class was part of the smaller nationalist coalition which was GERB’s partner in their government. So how can you say you represent change and you are against that government’s policies when you were actually part of it?!

The claims being made by Kiril Petkov and people around him that they are merely using that party for technical purposes, so they can legitimately run in the election, are not true because that party’s leader is currently the top candidate on the list for “We Continue the Change” in the Burgas constituency (editor’s note: that leader is Konstantin Bachiyski). When Rumen Radev visited Burgas, that same man stood by his right side. The party is considered to be the personal property of a local oligarch – Georgi Manev. And that is the party that had to be chosen as the coalition partner for “We Continue the Change? What change? Is that the change we are talking about? Until recently they were in government together with GERB and now they call themselves agents of change… That is a big scam. Those people are in no way bonafide.

Furthermore, although I do not personally know Kiril Petkov, I also noticed something else. He said he had financed the search operation for the missing Bulgarian mountaineer Boyan Petrov. After that Boyan Petrov’s wife also spoke publicly, saying that was a lie and the money for the search and rescue operation had come from the government.

Do you believe it is possible for a political entity to be created in Bulgaria that would not be under the patronage of the networks of the former state security?

– I do but it can only happen under one condition. Only if we make a radical change in the electoral system, i.e. implementing the decision of the referendum that was already held on the issues of electronic distance voting – something that should have happened back in 2019. The referendum result was ratified by parliament during Borissov’s second term as prime minister and it was confirmed the decision had to enter into effect by 2019. That never happened because none of the status-quo political parties would benefit from introducing electronic voting, that would actually destroy the plutocratic system of control over the political power in Bulgaria.

But if the Bulgarian diaspora, who is incredibly active, free-thinking, intelligent, and is not brainwashed by the propaganda we see inside the country, nor dependent on anybody’s political or economic interests, if those people are given the opportunity to participate in the elections through their tablets, their mobiles or their computers, then the conditions will allow for an authentic political entity providing representation in the country’s highest legislative institution.

The total control of the electoral system, which we are seeing today, even through voting machines, will no longer be possible if we introduce electronic distance voting. There will also be a dramatic rise in voter turnout and then an authentic new political force will be able to emerge.

It is cynical that a referendum decision, the product of direct democracy in Bulgaria that should have priority over any other act of government, has not been enforced and politicians are doing anything within their power to marginalise it and prevent its implementation. Is that democracy? It is a plutocratic power grab from the sovereign – the citizens from whom that political power originates. Sooner or later the 2016 referendum decision has to enter into effect.

We talked about Russia’s malignant influence in Bulgaria. I completely agree that it has been present for many years. But already in the 90s the West, our partners of today, somewhat carelessly and even willingly accepted the opportunity to cooperate with representatives of the former communist and state security nomenclature. It seems they did not demonstrate any sense of hygiene but only cared about who had the greatest popularity among the Bulgarian people?

– It says that also in the Wikileaks cables: “We know what Borissov is like, what he has done in the past, what he represents, etc., but as he is the hero of the day we have to act accommodatingly.” The same has applied to anyone who in their turn came to be the strong person of the day. But those who promote the strong persons of the day in Bulgaria and engineer their ascent to power are not the Americans. It is our own behind-the-scenes powers which are not imported.

Then I will ask you this way: why does the West agree to cooperate with those behind-the-scenes powers?

– They agree because they are pursuing their own interests. We have to get rid of the illusion that anyone else might be more interested in turning Bulgaria into a prosperous country. Who in the world would care if Bulgaria was prosperous? As much as you care if Uganda would be prosperous, that’s just how much the West cares if Bulgaria would be prosperous. They are interested in Bulgaria inasmuch as the situation here might suit or advance their national and global interests. And because those behind-the-scenes powers are in charge in Bulgaria, they have an iron grip over the country’s entire socio-economic and political life, they work with them, they tolerate them, since some of them are also directly benefiting from that. Some may have a corrupt interest in working with those structures in Bulgaria because Bulgaria is a goose laying golden eggs when it comes to corruption. In countries like the Netherlands, Belgium or France for example, who are also recipients of EU funds, you can never get any cashback. While in Bulgaria you can and that is a unique opportunity for certain people to line their pockets.

They are not going to come here and fix Bulgarian politics or import MPs and ministers. They are not interested in that. They are only interested in one thing: that whoever is in power in Bulgaria would satisfy their requirements. And the goal of those on the Bulgarian side is international recognition and access to the money coming from the EU because that is Bulgaria’s main revenue, as we have no economy. That is why extra efforts are being made to please.

While the USA have their global interests in Bulgaria and those global interests have very little correspondence with our own domestic problems. But we have to acknowledge the fact that the resolution under the Magnitsky Act came from the USA. That resolution has played a tremendous role in Bulgaria’s internal affairs. The fact that Delyan Peevski is now labelled as absolutely unacceptable to the international democratic community is enough to bring a change to many processes in Bulgaria. And the Magnitsky resolution is to a great extent also due to Bivol’s efforts for exposing the entire monstrous, corrupt and criminal scheme according to which the country is run.

Slightly aside from what we have been talking about so far, my last question is this: now that GERB are out of the executive power and Peevski is purportedly out of the media sector, are you noticing any improvement in the media environment or is it becoming even worse than before?

– The media that are under Delyan Peevski’s control are still following the same line from the time GERB and Peevski were in power. Things are unshakeable there, the propaganda line has been set and it is being followed unwaveringly. However I am noticing that media that were supposed to be relatively independent have started to very actively promote the new faith, which is Rumen Radev, the persons and political parties around him. We are witnessing a new targeted propaganda line that does not serve GERB but instead it trumpets “the new change”. However that is associated with promoting persons and structures creeping out of the near or more distant past when various now discredited governments ruled the country.

I am also seeing some self-censorship – the journalists in certain media can’t express their opinion freely, they must follow the new framework. And according to that there is no alternative to Radev and his new presidential party which everyone must bow to.

And I am noticing something more. Most of those media are financed by the America for Bulgaria foundation, from which Bivol has never received a cent. But it gives millions to media that are supposed to be free and by doing that is making that media space more encapsulated and promoting it in an offhand manner, together with its new line, as the avant-garde of some new wave that will map out the country’s future. Bivol is yet again outside that trend and is inconvenient because only Bivol dares to tell the truth as it is. Therefore to the new faith, the new political order, Bivol will be inconvenient. Again. But that does not scare me because I have been through all sorts of political turning points and I have always been inconvenient. Back in Jean Videnov’s time, then when the UDF were in power, then Simeon II’s movement, then the three-party coalition, then GERB and again now. The mission of telling the truth in Bulgaria is a mission impossible, yet it is the only mission worth pursuing if one has dignity, a conscience and a sense of honour.

Photo: Svetlomir Stoyanov for Bivol.bg 

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