Bulgarian Interior Ministry Report on the Staff of the Bulgarian Service of Radio Free Europe

[Excerpt]

ministry of tHe interior siXtH direCtorate

of state seCuritY

Top Secret!

In relation to the performance of the measures of the joint plan with the 5^th directorate of KGB and in coordination with state security, agent “Ivanovski” was sent on a trip to West Berlin and the federal republic of Germany. From March 1 through 4 this year he stayed with his acquaintances in Munich, where he acquired the following significant information:

Currently the atmosphere in the Bulgarian section of Radio Free Europe is very tense, as all of its employees are complaining of being in a state of stress due to the permanent suspicion and doubts of the presence of “spies” from Bulgaria among them. A division is said to exist among them into groups and camps, old and young, etc. The problem of filling the staff with people of high professional level still remains unsolved, since it is difficult to find defectors among the good Bulgarian journalists and writers. Nowadays the section is said to employ [only] hostile Bulgarian emigrants, who lack the necessary qualities and are unprepared.

In order to give a chance for work to all applicants, the management of the section decided to compensate any of the old staff who were willing to retire with a one-time amount of 200,000 DM. Besides this, it undertook the commitment to pay monthly pension installments, in case the years of work happened to be insufficient for [the required] length of service.

[The report continues with descriptions and gossip about the work and personal lives of fourteen members of the Bulgarian service.]

The audience and employees of the Bulgarian section of Radio Free Europe are said to have commented with dissatisfaction on the fact that, unlike some of the other socialist countries, the standard of living in Bulgaria is constantly on the rise. The import and export issues have been solved in an especially reasonable manner, which allows for the reduction of Bulgaria’s obligation to the West. A lot has been said about the “unequal opportunities” for different categories of citizens in our country. This is one of the topics on which they will count in the future to attract more listeners.

The Bavarian government has concluded an agreement with the management of Free Europe to convert the building of the radio into a city hospital, after the radio ceases its activities.

A copy of the data obtained will be sent to the first main directorate of state security.

HeaD of sixtH DireCtorate of state seCurity

Lieutenant-general:  (sign.

/P. stoyanov/