A commission charged with assessing Bulgaria's communist-era secret service archive announced in Sofia Thursday that Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov was recruited as a collaborator for the regime's foreign intelligence agency. It published the names of 23 people who worked for the presidential administration since the fall of communism in 1989-90 and had also collaborated for the notorious secret service.

Parvanov was listed as a secret collaborator for the foreign intelligence agency from Oct. 4, 1989 to July 16, 1993 under the codename "Gotze."

The fact that a secret service file has Parvanov's name on it is not new. He admitted in June 2006 that such a file existed, but said, "It contains information about me and nothing else, not even a word or a sign written by me."

The commission, however, had access for the first time to the foreign intelligence agency's files, which had been unavailable to the body's predecessor, which was restricted to examining those of the so-called "political police" -- ostensibly for security reasons.

Explaining "mysteries"

The foreign intelligence service's files are widely viewed as being crucial to explaining some of the "mysteries" of Bulgaria's transformation, such as how state funds were transferred abroad in large amounts before the country's dictatorship came to an end as well as how former communist spies were smoothly shifted into important state offices and the diplomatic service.

The unexplained suicide in November 2006 of Bozhidar Doychev, who was responsible for the foreign intelligence service files, nourished speculation in recent months that certain power elites were opposed to the files being examined.

"I think that the examination of the files of the president, the vice president and their staff members will make clear that the power concentration in the hands of former State Security employees continues to grow," said archive expert Todor Janakiev, who was part of the team that drafted new legislation on Bulgaria's state intelligence files.

The law, which came into effect in December 2006, calls for the names of public figures who worked for the intelligence apparatus to be published on the Internet.

Until assuming his first mandate as president, Georgi Parvanov, who was reelected for a second term in 2006, led the former Communist Party, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP).

Writing history for the secret service

"What President Parvanov said during his campaign for a second mandate was actually merely confirmed by the documents in the file," said Evtim Kostadinov, a BSP member and chairman of the secret service archive commission. "Nothing more. He said that he was tasked with the then very important problem of Macedonia."

Kostadinov was referring to difficult relations between Bulgaria and Yugoslavia which were overshadowed by controversial interpretations of Macedonian history. The Communist Party commissioned the foreign intelligence agency to compile historical proof that Macedonia belonged to Bulgaria, and it subsequently recruited experts on the subject, including Georgi Parvanov.

It asked him to collaborate on a book about Macedonia's history. The foreign ministry staff member who initially discussed the topic with the historian noted in his report that Parvanov was "ready and willing to work with the state security." From that point on, he was listed as a secret collaborator.

The current president and his political allies have made an effort to rebut the disclosures, although they're not expected to have legal consequences. They say that Parvanov wasn't aware that his employer was the foreign intelligence service and that his motives had been highly patriotic.

Some Bulgarians imply the foreign intelligence service actually did a good job and had nothing to be ashamed of, though most believe that in the years immediately after the collapse of the regime, communist spies played a negative role in society. Thus the discussion isn't merely about Parvanov but also about a thorough examination of the past.

Not the whole truth

German Bulgaria expert Heinz Brahm said there was a long way to go before the whole truth had been made public.

"The rumor won't disappear that Pravanov's files aren't complete," he said, adding that the Bulgarians must now decide whether they will accept the status quo or whether it's important for them to thoroughly examine their communist history.

Parliamentarians from the opposition say that 36 pages are missing from "Gotze's" file and have called for Parvanov's resignation. Other observers agree that the president's intelligence-service past could hurt Bulgaria domestically and internationally.

"There should be consequences," said Brahm. "If the whole thing is to have no significance, than one hasn't taken communism so seriously and sees no great responsibility. Above all, it must be important to the president that the Bulgaria he represents is spotlessly represented. He faces the choice: Are his interests important, or are Bulgaria's interests more important?"