Problems confronting the past in the Czech Republic

Recent revelations about the secret service past of former Prime Minister Josef Tosovsky and popular singer Jaroslav Nohavica have revived the subject of collaboration with the secret services in the Czech Republic. The Czech Minister of the Interior, Ivan Langer, now wants all files to be made public and the names of former informants to be published on the Internet. Dalibor Dostal comments: "Czech society still hasn't dealt appropriately with its communist past. On the one hand former spies are being treated like second-class citizens and not allowed to occupy certain positions. On the other, the Communist Party (KSCM) remains a fixed component of the political scene. At a local level the Conservative Civic Democratic Party (ODS) works together with the Communists, and President Vaclav Klaus owes his current post to communist votes. If Czech politicians don't adopt a clear stance regarding the legitimacy of the KSCM, the persecution of small-time Stasi spies will increasingly become a ridiculous symbol of hypocrisy."

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