Translated material
From the KGB to NATO
Former communist headed Western bloc intelligence agency
Over the coming year, the 26 members of NATO will share significantly less intelligence information with each other than before. This was reported by anonymous sources of several Western newspapers, including the influential American New York Times. The military explained that the reason for the mistrust was the appointment of 49-year-old Sándor Laborcza (pictured) , who heads the Hungarian National Security Directorate (UNS), to the post of chairman of the alliance's intelligence committee.This former communist studied in Moscow from 1983 to 1989 at the Higher School of the KGB of the USSR, that is, in the “tower”, as it is called in the professional jargon of the security officers. And in some NATO member countries, especially those from the former socialist camp, persons who were members of the Communist Party or had contacts with the KGB are prohibited from holding key positions.
Despite some objections, General Sandor Laborch headed the committee that coordinates intelligence sharing within NATO. The heads of national intelligence agencies chair this committee on an annual rotation basis. In January it was Hungary's turn.
It was no coincidence that Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany and Minister of Public Security Gyorgy Szilvassy, who oversees the work of the intelligence services, nominated Sandor Laborch. Firstly, he has proven himself well as the head of a number of the country’s law enforcement agencies. In 2007, he was appointed to the post of head of the NSA, effectively heading both intelligence and counterintelligence.
Secondly, the current Hungarian government has become softer towards the “old specialists”. Before the victory of the Hungarian Socialist Party in the 2002 elections, not a single Hungarian official who had worked in Moscow for more than a year could occupy a position higher than the head of a department. The parliamentary committee on national security, which oversees key appointments in the intelligence services, did not approve Laborche's appointment as NSA chief. His candidacy was rejected last year after a five-hour debate. However, the government apparatus ignored the opinion of the deputies, stating that “the decision of the parliamentary committee on the constitution is not binding.”
Now some NATO officers are alarmed - they say that the “KGB graduate” could not seriously change his views. “NATO is already known for its leaks,” a senior NATO official told the New York Times. He expressed concern that now there will be even more leaks.
NATO members suspect many of the alliance's recruits who were previously members of the Warsaw Pact. One official expressed a desire to "bet that all the data received by Bulgaria as a NATO member was sent to Moscow." He believes that "in Romania and Bulgaria the old communist nomenklatura and intelligence services are still in business." However, decisions on NATO appointments are made by consensus. As the New York Times noted, if the concerns were serious, "one call from the US ambassador to NATO would have been enough to prevent Laborche's appointment from happening."
In the biographical information posted on the website of the UNB of Hungary, the place and time of Laborch’s studies are not indicated. It is only said that he received a higher education in the specialty “international relations” with the qualification “specialist in the Far East”, and speaks Russian and Japanese. From 1978 to 2000 he worked in the Hungarian Ministry of Internal Affairs, from 2001 to 2004 he was deputy director of a department in the tax service.
The FSB Public Relations Center for Vremya Novostei did not comment on this appointment, suggesting that it be redirected to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. But calling there did not yield any results.