euro|topics - The lustration dispute in Poland

Main focus of Tuesday, May 15, 2007

The lustration dispute in Poland

On Friday, 11 May 2007, the Polish constitutional court declared the controversial lustration law, under which large sections of Polish society would be forced to reveal any past collaboration with the former communist secret service, unconstitutional in several points. Most European commentators hail this as a victory for the rule of law in Poland, while in Poland itself a debate has emerged about whether the general public should be given access to the secret service archives.

Gazeta Wyborcza - Poland

Adam Michnik, editor-in-chief of the daily and a former Solidarnosc activist, has made a surprising turnabout in the lustration dispute. He now calls for the files of the former secret service, which are currently under the control of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), to be made accessible to the general public. "I always held the view that the process of the public rummaging around in the files would lead to an immoral and inadvisible spectacle. And this is exactly what the directors of the Institute of National Remembrance are now doing. We must finally put an end to this nightmarish memory policing... The files should be made accessible to all - with all the terrible consequences this will bring. At least it would be better than the current situation. We must make the files public to end their power over us. A terrible ending is preferable to never-ending terror." (14/05/2007)

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Germany

Konrad Schuller approves of the Warsaw constitutional court's decision but comments: "It won't solve the problem of the secret service files. Some of the files have 'disappeared', others are with the IPN [the Institute of National Remembrance]. Files keep 'appearing from nowhere'... Now there are calls to put an end to the 'wild lustration' by letting everyone read everything. Perhaps this step - provided information about people's private lives is adequately protected - is necessary if Poland wants to overcome the current epidemic of suspicion. But one thing must not be forgotten: the files are weapons. They served to discredit the democratic opposition and make it comply. They must never be allowed to serve the same purpose in a free society." (15/05/2007)

Hospodářské noviny - Czech Republic

Tomas Nemecek applauds the fact that parts of the lustration law have been rejected by the constitutional court: "The lustration has basically been a good thing in central and eastern Europe. It served to draw a clear dividing line between old and new governments and cleansed the state apparatus of corruptible individuals. However, the Kaczynski brothers' Polish law is a pure parody. Luckily for Poland, the Kaczynskis have just watched it suffer a major blow at the hands of the constitutional court... The Kaczynskis stretched the good old law to into the private sphere and even to elected representatives. Many intellectuals - the highly-respected dissident Bronislaw Geremek among them - have rejected the law for this reason... Nonetheless, the Kaczynskis continue to enjoy the support of those who see Geremek as nothing more than a liberal professor and ex-communist. The two brothers' attacks on the former establishment will therefore continue." (14/05/2007)

El Mundo - Spain

The daily comments on the invalidation of the lustration law by the Polish constitutional court. "The Kaczynski brothers had justified the legislation [in effect since March 15th] by the fact that the Polish have the right to know the names of those who collaborated with the regime that prevented democracy for decades. ... The Kaczynski brothers now have to decide whether to put an end to this vengeful crusade or to continue in the same direction. Before the court's decision, they had threatened to open up the secret police archives to the public. Whether they do or not, the invalidation of the law is both a setback for their polemical witch-hunt and a warning for all those, anywhere in Europe, who think they can practise politics by rummaging through the past." (15/05/2007)

» To the complete press review of Tuesday, May 15, 2007

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