From the Archives Czechoslovakia in 1991: What to do with former secret police collaborators?
One of the most passionate debates in Czechoslovakia in the first years after the fall of communism was over what to do with people who had collaborated with the secret police – the StB – or had held prominent functions in the Communist Party. In 1991 the so-called “screening law” was passed, under which former StB collaborators were prevented from holding certain senior posts – for example in academia or in the civil service. At the time Radio Prague invited two Czech politicians into the studio: the left-of-centre member of the Federal Parliament, Jan Kavan, and the leader of the small right-wing Conservative Party, Jiří Kotas. Here is an extract from the debate, starting with Jiří Kotas, who was strongly in favour of the law:
Jan Kavan
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