BRATISLAVA, November 25, (WEBNOVINY) — Ex-Defense Minister, SaS Deputy Chair Lubomir Galko told the media on Friday that a senior officer of the Military Counterintelligence Service (VOS) is very likely to be responsible for the leak of confidential papers. Based on the material presented by SMER-SD Deputy Chairman Robert Kalinak a day ago, VOS Chief Pavol Brychta ordered all staffers that could possibly come across the papers to undergo a polygraph test. One officer however refused a lie detector test. All other tests were negative. Galko noted that the senior officer has also been screened in a different way but he did not give any details. The suspect has already been redeployed to a workplace where he does not have access to classified facts. The VOS boss is now preparing a criminal motion.
Galko emphasized that Kalinak had violated law by publishing the material. “He has disclosed a file, a record of operative information and part of it, paradoxically, was published also by the PRAVDA daily,” Galko said. He is convinced that someone has already put aside all documents that could be disclosed in the future. “They can be dosed gradually only with a long-planned aim to discredit my person and SaS,” he remarked adding that “we have not breached law.” Galko maintains that he acquired the abovementioned information in a legal way. Since his successor has not been picked yet, he continues operating at the ministry. He says he will hand over the department the moment the new minister is selected, as was the wish of the prime minister.
President Ivan Gasparovic and Prime Minister Iveta Radicova did not agree upon Galko’s successor during their meeting on Friday. The prime minister believes that the ministry should stay in the hands of SaS, as stipulated by the initial coalition treaty. The head of state is opposed to this solution although he gets on well with, for instance, SaS-nominated Economy Minister Juraj Miskov. As for the alleged nomination of MFA Mikulas Dzurinda mentioned by the media, Gasparovic is not sure whether the head of the Slovak diplomacy would have enough time for both ministries.
Gasparovic and Radicova agreed that as of Monday, the prime minister will take over the agenda of the Defense Ministry so that Galko, whose authorization has been canceled, stops going to his former office. Radicova believes that the ex-minister was not already eligible to the information from the VOS boss on who is suspected in the case of leaked papers. The wiretapping scandal is grave also from the international point of view because the credibility of our counterintelligence service might have shrunk in the eyes of our partners, said Radicova.
President Ivan Gasparovic withdrew midweek the authorization of Lubomir Galko to serve as Defense Minister in Slovakia’s caretaker Cabinet. He acted upon the request of Prime Minister Iveta Radicova who asked the head of state to remove Galko from office due to the case of wiretapping Pravda daily journalists and TA3 news channel director Michal Gucik, who are believed to be unlawfully monitored by the Military Counterintelligence Service, according to the information brought by the media.
SITA