Kiril Petkov and the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs clashed head-on about who pushed whom when and why

The co-chairman of “We continue the change” Kiril Petkov and the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Kalin Stoyanov clashed head-on on Nova TV on the topics of police violence and political interference in the work of the Ministry of the Interior. The two got into insane arguments about when and how many times they met, who launched Stoyanov and whether Petkov was putting pressure on him. Finally, Petkov stated that Stoyanov is no longer their minister, but of GERB and DPS, while the MIA chief believes that there are no problems and everyone is still one team.

Kiril Petkov explained in detail how he chose Kalin Stoyanov as the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. When forming the government for the Ministry of the Interior, they were looking for a person who was not politically bound, but who was neutral. GERB proposed several candidates, which PP-DB rejected. GERB also rejected PP-DB candidates. In the end, Kalin Stoyanov was submitted by GERB as an expert figure, which Petkov accepted after conducting an interview with him. For him, he knew that he was young, had investigated sacks of money destined for the highways, and held positions that were normal for the change they wanted. Before becoming a minister, Stoyanov asked to ask his wife. After two days he agreed.

Petkov rejected accusations that he had put political pressure on Stoyanov, saying he had met him only once – in August. Then, while everyone was on vacation, Stoyanov suddenly decided to change 17 heads of regional police directorates. “It’s his job, but I went to talk to him because I wanted to know if the election was based on having fair elections and if this purge was professionally oriented. “I asked him if he was sure that no one was influencing him, that he can trust everyone he replaces. He assured me that if we wanted him to be held accountable, we should let him do his job as he saw fit. I haven’t spoken to him since then,” explained Petkov. He added that he didn’t say a single name to be assigned.

Petkov repeated that he wants the resignation of the MIA chief for two reasons – that after the protests he did not categorically condemn the police violence against peaceful citizens and because of the political affiliations that became apparent after the ardent defense by GERB and DPS. “After the footage, if he had said that it was unacceptable for police officers to beat citizens in coffee shops and that he would do everything possible to hold the offenders accountable… And he said that everything was okay, everyone had done it, a calm feeling, this blew up our parliamentary group. You can’t beat them with a baton and the minister say he’s not outraged. It’s unacceptable that the capital is burning and you’re at the cinema,” Petkov pointed out. According to him, it is not enough to say that you condemn violence, but to ensure that it will be punished.

“Before the facts were seen, GERB and DPS jumped to defend the minister like life and death. If they defend him before they have heard the truth, I doubt that there is a political dependence. Until yesterday I did not know that there was one, but today I see. “Since Borisov has a problem, he wants to get rid of it, and now he stands with his chest to defend it, without having seen the details,” he pointed out.

Petkov directly accused GERB leader Boyko Borisov of lying several times. Apart from the question of who proposed Kalin Stoyanov, Borisov also lied that one of the deputy ministers in the Ministry of Internal Affairs was appointed only because he was Petkov’s bodyguard. “We are talking about Kiril Tsenkin, he is a great professional, 6 years ago he was Borisov’s bodyguard as well. It is high time that Borisov starts telling the truth. Tsenkin managed teams in the NSO and is not just a security guard,” said Petkov.

In the middle of the conversation with Petkov on the phone, Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov surprisingly intervened and started refuting the PP leader. “The meeting was not one, but several – at the Ministry of the Interior, and this can be verified. There were also many telephone conversations in which he tried to interfere in the activities and personnel policy of the Ministry of the Interior – which employee should we put in which management position , and not to remove some of the directors that I wanted to remove”, claims Stoyanov. This apparently angered Petkov and he entered into a direct dialogue with Stoyanov.

“Since August, have you had a call from me?” Petkov asked. “And until August? Until then, there were many conversations and personal meetings,” countered Stoyanov. “I have never spoken to you by name,” insisted Petkov. Stoyanov continued to repeat that Petkov had met with him at the Ministry of the Interior many times.

Petkov asked to find out if there were other leaders with whom the MIA chief had met. Stoyanov admitted that he had meetings with Delyan Peevski and Boyko Borisov, but they were on the sidelines of the parliament. And he tried to direct the attack at the Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Zhivko Kolev, who is a personal appointment of the Prime Minister and who, for some reason, was left out of the scandal surrounding police violence during the protest against the BFS, even though he holds the highest professional position in the ministry. “The operational leadership of the services rests with the chief secretary,” repeated Stoyanov several times, but Petkov did not bring up this topic.

The Home Secretary continues to dither on the issue of police violence. He said he did not tolerate this kind of behavior and that any police officer who overstepped his authority would face disciplinary or criminal charges. But when asked if it was proper and legal for a police officer to beat a container arsonist who had fallen to the ground and was already disarmed, Stoyanov answered with a counter question as to whether it was proper for the person in question to set fire to containers. When asked about a specific situation of police violence captured on video, he directed the conversation to the injured officers. “I’m not making excuses, but you’re trying to put everyone under a common denominator,” he complained.

Kiril Petkov did not fail to scold the minister for being at the cinema during the protest. “On the ground should be the professional figure in the Ministry of Internal Affairs /Secretary General, note editor/, you come to the front row, to experience the emotion of the protesters next time,” replied Stoyanov. “I certainly won’t be with you at the cinema,” Petkov responded.

Despite the clash, Stoyanov sees no problem in continuing to be a minister. “I don’t see what the problem is, we have trust, we work, we are one team, I don’t argue with anyone,” he said.

After the stormy conversation, Petkov concluded that if until now he was in favor of expert figures becoming ministers, he now believes that only people who are clearly bound politically should be appointed so that they can bear political responsibility. However, he admitted that there is also a minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who is not doing his job – of electronic governance, Alexander Iolovski, who also accused him of pressure.