In my book Cold War Radio, I go into some detail about how Radio Free Europe (RFE) found Gullino in 1995 in Budapest, Hungary. RFE contacted him for an interview. He asked for time to think about it and then left Hungary without doing the interview.
Afterward, there was no trace of him until 2002, when reportedly he was detained on the German or Austrian border with the Czech Republic on suspicion that a painting in his possession was stolen; it was not. He was not charged and again seemed to have disappeared.
During the research for the 2013 documentary Silenced: The Writer Georgi Markov and the Umbrella Murder, Gullino was located in Wels, Austria, where he worked as an art dealer. He was registered with the Danish Embassy in Budapest, had a new or renewed Danish passport, and received a monthly Danish social security payment. He agreed to be interviewed for the film.
The world premiere of the film was in Sofia, Bulgaria, in March 2013. Below are excerpts from Gullino's interview with film director Klaus Dexel. He not only denied involvement in the Markov murder, but also he resurrected the 1980s Communist propaganda that Markov’s death was part of the West’s Cold War conspiracy against Bulgaria.
Q. Were you the murderer of Georgi Markov, or not?
A. I have nothing to do with this story. I am sorry. I wish I could give you a straight answer. But, think for a moment. If I were the murderer, do you think I should just say it? The real truth, you don’t throw it away because it is so important. But for your broadcasting, you can just say what want, just like all the others. … But in general, why should one say the truth? What for? You live so well with lies. Isn’t it? Or say nothing.
While Gullino’s English is not perfect, it is very good. Later in the taped interview, Gullino then gave his views on the Cold War and the murder of Georgi Markov:
Cold War. The situation. The period. They were just accusing each other for the most horrible things. Weren’t they? Weren’t the British, the Americans, the West, the Germans, whatever, finding any occasion they could to say something bad about the East. And in the East, they did the same thing about the West. That was part of the attitude they had for the period of the Cold War.
It was normal for the day. What kind of British newspaper would say that life was better in Bulgaria, or in Russia, or whatever. They would say there were bad people; it was cold, nothing to eat, or whatever. And there is no freedom; there is no standard of living… On the other hand, in the eastern countries, they would have said that in England, everything is decadent, and impoverished. They were accusing one another for many years of … well, you know very well, yes, if this Mister died on his very own? But on the other hand, … the country of Bulgaria was never very famous for nothing, really nothing important in the Cold War contest, you see? Like Pope, Hungary, Czech, or Poland. They were always talking so much about Poland. And why not also give a bit to the Bulgarians? Just a bit.
But, the very fact that nothing happened to me proves that nobody was really serious about me. But of course in the story, especially in those days, was an interesting story. When it happened 30 or 40 years ago. I think even a Japanese newspaper reported it. So it was quite a big story because … it was so exciting. You understand? As I told you before, the dark evening, the foggy evening, the London Bridge, the umbrella, so British the umbrella. Did they say I had a bough on the head with thorns? Conan Doyle could have made it.
The film was next shown at the Documentary Film Festival in Munich in May 2013. The German network ZDF and the French network ARTE aired the film in September 2013. The film touched the nerves of former Bulgarian intelligence agents and collaborators, who, in newspaper articles and in television interviews, charged that Markov died from a cat scratch that was falsely diagnosed by the British doctors.
In August 2021, the Austrian news agency APA reported that "An Italian with a Danish passport Francesco Gulino, known as "Agent Piccadilly," was found dead in his home in the Austrian city of Wales. A doctor confirmed the death of the 75-year-old former secret agent. Police said that there was no evidence of a violent death."
For more information
Details on Gullino’s alleged espionage activities for Bulgaria are documented in Hristo Hristov's book, The Double Life of Agent Piccadilly that is available to download as an e-book at www.hristo-hristov.com
Also, Chapter 3, “Piccadilly vs. the Tramp: the Murder of Georgi Markov” in Richard H. Cummings, Cold War Radio: the dangerous History of American Broadcasting in Europe, 1950 – 1989, which was reviewed in The History Herald, 6 October 2012.
2012 Photograph of Francisco Gullino and interview extracts courtesy of film director Klaus Dexel.
No comments:
Post a Comment