Secret Police Are Out of Business, Bulgaria Says

SOFIA, Bulgaria — The Bulgarian secret police agency has been disbanded in a major shake-up of the state security services aimed at helping the country rid itself of its hard-line Communist past, officials announced Tuesday.

Speaking at round-table talks between the government and opposition parties in Sofia, Interior Minister Atanas Semerdziev said: “The law enforcement authorities will become new and modern bodies independent of any political party and guided solely by the interests of the people and the state,” the official BTA news agency quoted him as saying.

Semerdziev also announced the creation of a new intelligence service that would operate with a much smaller staff than that of its predecessor.

He also reassured participants at the talks that their telephones were not tapped, and he signed a declaration that no eavesdropping devices have been installed in the offices of the Union of Democratic Forces opposition group.

Also Tuesday, newly appointed Prime Minister Andrei Lukanov told opposition parties he is prepared to consult them on all major issues, and would welcome their participation in his government.