site.btaContinue the Change Attacks President for Not Convening National Security Council

Following a drone attack against two merchant ships in the small hours on Tuesday, Continue the Change said it is only natural to protect Bulgarian territorial waters, or at the very least to establish why they were not protected. “Unfortunately, we clearly do not have a true president of the Republic of Bulgaria who is also commander-in-chief. No Consultative Council for National Security (CCNS) has been convened so far, and despite the army’s budget having doubled, we do not have adequate protection for Bulgarian citizens,”  Continue the Change leader Asen Vassilev told a news briefing in Parliament. 

“I expect President Iotova once again will not convene the CCNS if, as commander-in-chief, she does not see a need to do so,” Vassilev added.

Earlier on Tuesday, the President’s Office announced that President Iotova had cancelled her visit to Veliko Tarnovo after the attack on the ships in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea. 

“Thus far, the government has allowed our airspace to be violated, as well as the incident involving the two vessels in Bulgarian waters,” Vassilev said.

According to him, these incidents could have been prevented if information had been shared with Bulgaria’s allies. “Under the leadership of Radev and Iotova, Bulgaria opted out of the common anti-drone shield system that Europe is building, and consequently we cannot have a full exchange of information with our neighbours,” the CC leader explained.

Vassilev also said that CC was seeking an extraordinary sitting of parliament next Tuesday over the case of Ognyan Atanasov, known as the Petrich Escobar, who was convicted of serious crimes and was granted a pardon by Iotova. CC had received assurances from other parliamentary groups that they would support the request and sign the motion for an extraordinary sitting on October 13. At the sitting, CC wants the director of the General Directorate for the Execution of Punishments, as well as the heads of Sofia Prison and the hospital attached to the prison, to be heard.