No alternative to confronting the communist past

The Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes in the Czech Republic has come under repeated attack since it was founded. The Communists call for it to be closed down, while others take issue with the Institute for naming former alleged perpetrators such as Milan Kundera. For its part the liberal daily Mladá fronta Dnes defends the Institute: "The problem is not the Institute or the historians' approach. The main problem is the past which the authority is examining. That disgraceful, and in some cases despicable past which we had to live through and unfortunately are still living through. And which we would have to live through even if the Institute had never existed. The Czech Republic is a country where nothing can be kept secret. Documents like those about Kundera were bound to be found by someone and become public."

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