THE ATTACK ON THE POPE: NEW LINK TO BULGARIANS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000504830012-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 12, 2011
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: March 23, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/01/12 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000504830012-0
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and the assigime
.Bulgarian securit,
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The Attack on the Pope: __r
New Link to Bulgarians ." clear that N
important official
NICHOLAS GAGE ~~ ~ for
89 Svirdlev, a form
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The authorities m western Europe contraband goods -and escorts for their Haw lives m West
have information that supports testi- boats out of Bulgarian waters. This in, g`-ven the name Di
mony given to them by a Turkish assas yes hum as associate of iatew of one per
sin, Mehmet Ali Ages, that when be Belay 4C4emk a Turkish busioe ; Savov in the secxtr., -,rj au. 4.m -
tried to kill Pope John Paul Ii cm May srbo Mr. ASce said after P A hip 51.25 s was in charge of cocmteintelli?
13, 1981, he was acting at the behest of gene tar Bulgarians western and south- '
milli?in Sofia in the summer of 1980 to eta zeigbibors Yugoslavia and
Bulgarian intelligence agents. hill the pope.
The evidtnca, though not candudve, 7-_ Twiection WasSept Quiet ....a, the former colamd, said, Mr.
includes ilmmaboa troni a Bntgasan Savovwassentabroadiooveaseeespio.
n fuel who detected to France in 3nty Mr. Mantarov,'tbe &uigarian who de: .Huge operations while .serving as the
1981. fected in France, was-deputy oommer- .cKmmerrial attach in aBnlgatian em-
The oicial, IordAn Msatarvv, - 48 . 51 attache at the Bul~n Embassy. bassy. He-could not remember to what
-years old, fold French intalli g? ce in Paris. His defection bas been kept so . o~tagy Mr. Savoy was:ssigoed. .
agents that the plot to idll the Pope-was genet bv. the Fueach'late ual Counter. . `Detectiaa bo Relmsln1IS1-
devised by the K.G.B., theSovietinte hi-' espionage Servicethatthe French have ~A scarce with
ar M;_ the geacx agency. And by the Bulgarian w only recently told the Ziaited States ~-
daaMughterter
cret service, which many Western Intel- m'al IateIicgemoeAgemeyabout 1t v, w who ho is married sarried tried TC and d has a a )dr.
rnv
lirmce specialism lists consider subservient According to 'French intellig ace ..may commericalattache from,
TD Moscow . ` - sauces. Mr. Man arv-aold his debrief. 1979 w the summer of 1961, when be de-
''The pica Wa np- ; 3+~r13i~laata Hers that be was a dasetiead of a high- tected while visiting Reims.
'rvv said, because the two agencies be- asking :official in Ube- coami+etintelli- ~t is not known whe her'Freaeb Intel-
lieved that the Pope-was the ke0+smue. of division of the3ulgarian state se- . ligenoe officials have--told the Italian
,a United States . fjtrt t0 Subvert the [qty icy, -the-=Durzhavaa Sigar. $nthorities about Mr. Mzntarves d
'.Polish Government and move n s ost:?be mead, be said., told him about c3asu es. but it appears 1misety, be-
are knt
be
of
-
th
f
cv- None
from the Communist bloc Xrv,tng. alarm in toanmu nisi intelii- the
they s
The Bulgarian Goverameni bas agencies that the Pope had-been .iaformatiat theoviet Name -of
called the the Italian officials tatt'viewed, includ-
as
' an insurgent to help disrupt
implication that Bulgarians cyL,_ ,sm tag she ,investigating mapsuste, nano
were involved in the assassination at, native Poland Marcella, gave any hint that they knew
tempt or the Pope entirely without :Mantarvv .4deottfied the..high- otthe new defector.
focndatian and ~'a :fabrication put Ito- Bulgarian official as Dimiter According to the French sources, Mr.
try western .88en? -Savov and said he was an official of the Mantarvv said the K.G.B. became sus
ties. The Soviet Uaiom has repeatedly agency's division.: picious immediately after the election
-demiedarryrule intheattack. . -; independent. intelligence auz~s tom- of Cardinal wojtyis as Pope in 1978 be-
Mr. Maatarv s~ famed the existence of an-official of the cause it cotacided with growing. unrest
t, aerardiag `~_ in.--Poland over corruption-and mtsmah-
to French tuenlig rce sources, repre- Bulgarian seaurltr_agecy . with :~ agement in the Polish Government
seats the firstzepor h~om a Bulgarian mama Dimite: Savov, though they said The Eastern European intelligence
j.dete= who was in an official position -they could not -immediately confirm services, especially the K.G.B. and the
-at the time-of the shooting. it was tun- that he was who Mr. Maararov said he Bulgarian age cy, came to believe that
covered during a two month iavestigs.1 ? ? - . V the election of the Pope was engineered
Liam by The flew York Times, to seven `m
countries, of the purported that '1979 the K?G.B concluded strike out against the Communist sys.
that the tlection of Karol wojtyla tan., Mr. Maatarov told his debriefers.
Plot Pope the year before was engineered by , Re said that when unrest motmted in,
Gamacts in ltaty ZGigniew Br nslri. Pr silent _ Ca . Poland and thePopesqrported the aspi-
The iavestigatian also found that SerH to .a$ national security advises, wbo vvas rations of Polish workers to organize
gel I. Antony. -25, an ?official of Balksa 1 born An Poland. Mr. Brzeziashi's pus- ? Into independent Unions, Eastern Euuro-
po e, In this accomt of the K.G.B think. pens intelligence agencies became coo}
Airlines whom the Italians are bolding tag, was to take advantage of growing ceimed that their fears were correct and
an suspicion, that be was Mr. Agca's ? tmesc: in Polaand,and break its ties to { the K G.B. began discussions with the
Bulgarian accomplice, rapeatedly c I
an- MoK w.:lt_is'not clear on whit basis $ en intelligence service on a way.
tradicted ' information be gave to the the S.G.B. might have reached such a toeltminate John Paul U.
Italian authorities about his move.. belief: ?_ ` Ming of Turkish Editor -
meatsandramactaisItaly.:: ResponsefurElectionofPope. )r. hlantarov quoted Mr. Savov as
And it found that Twti sh smugglers . The response w the election of Pope ; saving Mr. Agca was chosen as the as-
who Mr. Agca said financed his travels, -John Paul n - made by the Soviet au. raisin of the Pope because be was.
after his escape from prison In Turkey thorities and conveyed to the Bulgar known throughout the world as a right-
in November -1979 hid-such close ties fans, according to Mr. Mantarws ac. ist after killing a liberal Turkish news-
witb the Bulgarian ,authorities, Includ- count - was to -elirr lnate" the Pope,,.. pew editor, Abdi ipel=, in 2979 and
ing the state security police, that they bad no links to any Communist c entry.
were prvvi&' m+*N ate..,....... -- .L_:_ . Fts was eniritM flirt nf a Thrl ich nriaaa
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/01/12 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000504830012-0