The handling of Stasi files in Poland

A week ago the non-party Polish Finance Minister Zyta Gilowska resigned. She had been accused of having worked for the communist secret police, an accusation she had always denied. Following her resignation, the court leading the inquiries dropped the case because according to Polish law only politicians holding office are subject to investigation under the Lustration Law. The case has triggered a heated discussion about how to deal with the country's secret service past. Former Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Bartoszewski comments: "The conclusion to be drawn from the entire affair is that we have a sick Lustration Law that needs to be thoroughly reassessed. Something must be very wrong when a prime minister is unable to learn the truth about the members of his government. I pity the prime minister, but above all I pity Gilowska. You can't blacken someone's name like this and then not give them the full opportunity to defend themselves."

» full article (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Poland
All available articles from » Wladyslaw Bartoszewski

» To the complete press review of Friday, June 30, 2006