Ryszard Kapuscinski's secret-service past

Arthur Becker puts the Kapuscinski debate in a wider context. "One has to be aware of the fact that Poland is currently experiencing a genuine constitutional revolution. The conservative governing PiS party recently lost an important battle over opening the secret police archives to the public. The constitutional court declared it unconstitutional to open all suspect secret service files to the public as the government had proposed... The danger of prominent figures of Poland's political and cultural life being exploited now lurks on every corner. In this respect Ryszard Kapuscinski's fate optimally serves certain interests. Kapuscinski's case could be described as a 'feast' for certain parties... Kapuscinski needed to travel because he needed to conduct his research. Evidently the price he had to pay for his passport was very high."

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » History, » Poland