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Current AffairsInterior Ministry plagued by unreliable screening certificates
According to a law passed shortly after the fall of communism, all senior
civil servants must undergo security screening to prove that they didn't
collaborate with the former communist secret police. The plan which was to
keep former agents out of the country's new democratic structures has
shown itself to be far from foolproof however. Twelve years after its
approval, the Czech Interior Ministry is plagued by unreliable screening
certificates and admits that in a number of cases former communist agents
may be operating in high posts.
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Press ReviewPress Review
The lottery fever gripping the nation makes headlines today, as does news
that teachers might strike for just one day instead of three, or perhaps
not strike at all. Also on the front pages today, two high-profile murder
cases - the killing of a priest by a seemingly unrepentant 29-year-old,
and news that a young married couple from Kutna Hora have admitted to
murdering eight elderly people for their money - the worst case of serial
murder in Czech criminal history.
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Current AffairsGrebenicek's death ends unsatisfactory court case
Alois Grebenicek, a former Communist secret police officer accused of
torturing political prisoners in the 1950s, has died in hospital at the
age of 81. His passing has closed the file on a highly publicized court
case that dragged out for six long years but never really started.
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Press ReviewPress Review
People who like to eat their breakfast while browsing through Mlada Fronta
Dnes are likely to choke over their coffee this morning. "The food
you are eating may be full of poisons" reads one of the headlines. It
is a disturbing article, in particular for those Czechs who live close to
chemical plants.
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Press ReviewPress Review
Wednesday's Czech dailies offer a mixed bag of headlines. HOSPODARSKE
NOVINY leads with the story that the disease SARS - which has not been
detected in the Czech Republic - could cost the country billions as
tourists from Asia choose not to travel.
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Current AffairsJan Kavan, president of the UN General Assembly, under investigation
The president of the United Nations General Assembly and Social Democrat
parliamentarian Jan Kavan is once again in hot water. Mr Kavan is
rejecting calls that he should resign from his UN post because of a
scandal involving classified documents at the Czech Foreign Ministry.
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Current AffairsFormer secret police agent gets a breather in 12-year cat-and-mouse game with Czech courts
For the past 12 years Pavel Minarik has found himself in and out of Czech
courtrooms. The former secret police agent's latest battle with the law
ended this past Friday. What is he accused of? Why was he acquitted? Tracy
Burns has the details.
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Current AffairsCzechs wait thirteen years for official names of secret police collaborators
Ask Czechs what is unique about their behaviour, many will admit a lack of
directness. For reasons why, you do not have to look far. Forty years of
Communist rule and the fear of being watched whenever and wherever taught
many Czechs to guard their behaviour and rarely trust their neighbours -
for good reason. An unofficial list compiled by former dissident Petr
Cibulka in the early 1990's revealed 200,000 names of people believed to
have spied on their friends, neighbours, and even family. After years of
speculation over the list's reliability the Interior Ministry has finally
released an official list, erasing any question of doubt. Dita Asiedu
reports.
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