| MAIN FEATURE >
StB incorporated
Written by: René Jakl
The recent release of the official
list of StB collaborators revealed the names of quite a few members
of today's Czech economic elite. Where does the current distribution
of power have its roots?
|
StB dictionary
The official terms for describing collaboration
with the communist counter-intelligence service,
based on guidelines issued by the ministry of interior,
were changed at least five times between 1948-1989.
The most frequent categories - agent, resident,
and conspiracy apartment holder - are from the
last period, 1972-1989.
· Agent: a secret collaborator who fulfilled tasks
of searching out, processing, and documenting anti-state
criminal activities.
· Resident: according to the guideline: "...a
specialized secret collaborator who under the direction
of an operative controlled the work of those agents
entrusted to him by the operative."
· Conspiracy apartment holder: an extra-vetted collaborator
("vetting relating also to his family, close
relatives, and possible other persons...") in
whose apartment other extra-vetted collaborators
met.
· Informer (or possibly secret collaboration
candidate): this category doesn't directly belong among the secret
collaborators. Those in this category didn't fulfill
any assigned tasks, but rather worked as informers,
sometimes even unawares. If they proved themselves
they became secret collaborators.
|
|
TO PETR CIBULKA, a perseverent anti-communist
and the publisher of the first StB collaborators lists, it is clear:
big business is still under the control of people who were associated
with the communist secret police. Conversely, orthodox liberals
are of the opinion that the Czech economic elite was born through
natural selection, favoring the better-educated, more flexible,
more clever people who were able to offer the goods or services
that were in demand. This was typically either a question of experience
with foreign markets, or having capital - that is, having contacts
in the right places. However, this "liberal" theory applies
in full only if conditions are equal at the onset, something the "non-chosen" and
uninvited could only dream about. Today's economic elite is, of
course, a mixture of the two extremes, which means capable managers
and entrepreneurs, as well as people merely capable of doing anything
for money. The fact remains that the number of important economic
players in the interior ministry's files is surprisingly high.
Ever since Cibulka's lists were released eleven years ago doubt
and ridicule have been cast upon them, and they have even been
branded as targeted disinformation. Although the ministry of interior
in fact verified their credibility, uninformed laypersons are still
skeptical as to their conclusiveness as evidence. A large majority
of those in the ministry files worked with the StB with full awareness,
as Vladimír Zeman, the deputy interior minister in charge of archives,
stated in an interview for Lidové noviny this March. However, when
persons affected sue the ministry of interior, claiming that they
were not conscious collaborators, they usually win their suits.
Alena Vitásková, the former general director of Transgas won such
a lawsuit. How can this be? The ministry of interior is often unable
to submit original documentation, which had in the interim either
been stored on microfilm or intentionally destroyed.
Besides discovering the names on the lists of collaborators, it's
also important to know who will never turn up there. For example,
people who were active agents during the revolutionary period of
1989 came out with shining facades. The then-minister of interior
ordered their files destroyed. Also, the names of agents in the
civilian and military intelligence services, Czech agents of the
Soviet KGB and the military intelligence unit, the GRU, remain
unpublished. Civilian intelligence employees who had worked abroad,
such as representatives of Czech foreign-trade firms like Strojexport,
or workers at Czech embassies under diplomatic cover, were very
successful in the post-November economy. They were almost the only
people who had any chance to learn how market economies function.
But the government never decided to make their names public. Also,
many people feared the possible publication and looked for ways
to avoid it. "People that did not want to appear protected
themselves before the lists were out," confirms Jiří Hájek
from the press department of the ministry of interior. "Either
in the form of a preliminary court decision or a lawsuit. We registered
about 25 cases during the last six months. Some people avoided
the publication by changing their nationality," he adds.
Past links to the StB don't seem to pose a great problem in the
Czech business environment. This is clear from large companies'
requirements for potential managers. During her twelve years of
work in the top executive search field, Hana Navarová, the managing
partner at Neumann & Partners, has never known a client to
require a clean lustration. "At the most they wanted clean
criminal registry records. Of course it entered my mind a few times
that if someone had been able to work seven years abroad under
the 'normalization', there was probably something amiss," she
says. "But to whom can you prove it?"
Another representative of a large top executive search firm, who
wished to remain anonymous, suggested that sometimes former contacts
with the StB needn't be bad: "Clients are mainly interested
in current qualifications and what candidates can bring to the
company. This also includes contacts that could be useful." So
even 14 years after the fall of communism, a past as an agent isn't
seen as an onus, but sometimes, paradoxically, as a positive qualification.
Photo:
Tomáš Kubeš |
Petr
Cibulka: Conspiracy theories
What do you think of the files published by the
ministry of interior?
"
They should have been made public long ago, and furthermore,
they're far from complete. According to secret services
historian Radek Schovánek, 20-50,000 names are missing
from the ministry of interior's official files. In
principle, the authenticity of Cibulka's files, which
came from the same source and we released 11 years
ago, was confirmed."
The official ministry files do not contain
the "informer" collaboration
category. To what extent were informers aware of
their involvement and collaborated voluntarily?
"
Many of them were much more active than some agents.
When they proved themselves, they became not just
ordinary counter-intelligence agents, the StB Administration
Second Unit made use of them. So they were elite
communist espionage agents. No one ever published
the files of former civilian or military espionage
agents, or the files of local Soviet KGB and GRU
collaborators."
As the publisher of the files of secret collaborators
and StB agents, people know your skeptical attitude
towards the democratic nature of the political and
economic changes post-1989. Are you still of the
same opinion?
"
17 November was no revolution, it was a privatization
coup directed by the KGB. The idea was to turn the
bad guys into legal owners. The entire privatization
scheme was a fraud committed upon the citizenry."
Isn't your conspiracy theory with respect to communist
agents in 1989 a bit overblown?
"
The agents themselves are the ones who most often
warn about conspiracy theories. It involves more
than our nation; someone has even discovered that
since WW II more governments in Europe fell due to
state coups than to democratic elections. And a coup
is always the result of a conspiracy."
|
|
Inside the list
Photo:
LN - Hynek Glos |
Michal
Donath
· owner of PR agency Donath-Burson-Marsteller
· cover names Kurt, Lev and Don
· registered from 30 October 1980
Curriculum vitae
· born in 1950
· 1973, graduated from the Faculty of foreign trade at the
University of Economics in Prague. Received one-year stipend
at the Institute of Journalistic Science in Vienna. Worked
on various positions in planning, foreign and domestic trade,
agriculture, transportation and health care.
· During the years 1986-1991, worked as Prague's correspondent
for American magazine Time and UPI agency, which helped him
to create contacts with foreign and local media and with
Czech politicians.
· Since 1991, managed the Czech branch of Burson-Marsteller
agency, which he took over in 1998 and established Donath-Burson-Marsteller.
He was one of the founders of the Association of PR Agencies.
How did you react to the recent publication of your name
in the list of former StB collaborators published by the
ministry of interior?
"
The new publication of notoriously known facts was not a
surprise to me."
Do you think the appearance of your name in the list may
harm the reputation of the company you are heading?
"
No, I don't think so. Clients, partners and competition consider
what I do professionally, not only where the owner has been
or is registered."
Do you intend to appeal against the publication of this
information?
"
I don't have any reason to appeal. The information in the
list proves the fact that I have been registered - matters
which I have never denied."
In your opinion, what does the publication of this list
mean for the Czech society 14 years after the end of the
communist regime?
"
I don't dare judge this on behalf of the whole society. I
think that due to the time that passed since the changes
in 1989, and the fact that most of the cases are already
known, the meaning of the official publication is rather
symbolic."
|
Photo:
Jan Vágner |
Vratislav
Kulhánek
· chairman of the board of directors of Škoda Auto, a.s.
· cover name Luboš
· registered since 16 December 1987
Curriculum vitae
· born in 1943
· 1966, graduated from the School of Economics, 1991-92,
studied at European Business School
· after school worked in construction, from 1981-1992, worked
for Motor Jirkov, last two years as chairman of the board.
1992-1997, director at Robert Bosch, and since 1998, CEO
of Škoda Auto.
What he has to say about his name appearing in the files:
Through his spokesman Jaroslav Černý, he refused to speak
with The Prague Tribune on the topic. But in an April 2003
interview with Mladá fronta Dnes, he strongly denied any
contacts with the StB. "I really don't know why my
name appears in those files, I can't answer your question.
I never signed anything, and I never informed on anyone," he
said.
|
Photo:
ČTK |
Aleš Hušák
· general director of Sazka, a.s.
· cover names Chapman and Krakonoš
· registered since 16 December 1980
Curriculum vitae
· born in 1957
· graduated from law school
· until 1989, worked for the Restaurants and Dining Facilities enterprise,
in the Research Institute of Local Economics, and in the department of
foreign currency legislation of the Czechoslovak National Bank. In 1990,
studied in Canada and then became sales director for Výstaviště Praha.
From 1994 to 1996, served as economic vice-chairman of the Czech Sports
Association, and since 1995 has been the general director of Sazka.
What he has to say about his name appearing in the
files:
He refused to answer The Prague Tribune's questions. His assistant told
us that "he recently commented on this matter for Mladá fronta Dnes,
and does not want to comment further." In the article mentioned,
which was published on 4 April 2003, he confirmed his StB contacts without
hesitation, explaining that the reason was his employment in the Czechoslovak
National Bank. "My position could be held by people who were either
members of the party, which I would never have joined, or those who would
have to work for the StB," he said. Hušák claims that he told those
close to him that he had signed an agreement to cooperate, but that he
didn't inform on anyone. "It's nothing to be proud of, but I don't
feel that I hurt anyone. I'm not ashamed of my life. Those were the times
we lived in," he told Mladá fronta Dnes.
|
Photo: euro/Tomáš
Novák |
Alena Vitásková
· former general director of Transgas
· cover name Eva
· registered since 3 February 1984
Curriculum vitae
· graduated from the Ostrava School of Economics and the Brno School
of Technology, construction department
· 1974-1990 - employed by Severomoravská plynárenská, in her last year
as general director and vice-chair of the board of directors. Since 1991
worked for Transgas as chair of the board of directors, and later as
general director. Recalled in August 2003.
What she has to say about her name appearing in
the files:
The Prague Tribune was unable to get a response, as requests for interviews
have been denied by the press spokesman of Transgas. She has been involved
in a suit with the weekly Respekt, which wrote that she had been an StB
agent. She demanded CZK 10 million in compensation. She lost the case,
but won the dispute with the ministry of interior, which was not able
to convince the court that she was a conscious collaborator. Therefore,
in the official list next to her name appears the note: "Court decision
on unauthorized registration."
|
Photo:
Matt Carr |
Jiří Šimáně
· co-owner of the Unimex, a.s., group
· cover name Roman
· registered since 1 January 1972
Curriculum vitae
· born in 1949
· studied at the Law faculty of the Charles University in Prague
· since 1976, worked for Strojexport, a foreign trade enterprise. As
of 1988, managed Prago company in Lusaka, Zambia. In 1991, returned to
CSFR and founded Unimex, which runs Duty Free Shops, the Obi chain, and
the Čedok travel agency.
What he has to say about his name appearing in the
files:
Responding to questions from The Prague Tribune, he defends himself against
accusations, saying, "I never collaborated with the StB, I was never
an informer or agent for them. I never signed anything, and no one ever
gave me any assignments. People who know me know what I'm like. Everyone
had to meet with the police whether they wanted to or not. People they
chose had no chance of avoiding them. We knew who they were. Period." He
says he is considering some unspecified "legal avenue" to defend
his reputation.
|
|
Simply the best
IT IS NOW a tradition. Every year they meet in the Spanish
hall of the Prague Castle. They all stand together, close
to the Prime Minister for a souvenir photo, so self-assured
that they have reached the pinnacle of fame. They are the "Czech
100 Best". Their name is stylishly handwritten in a
little frame that they will proudly display in the reception
area of their headquarters, or in their own office. God only
knows how one becomes part of the happy few, as the requirements
seem well within the reach of an average company manager:
to run a firm registered in the Czech Republic; to have at
least 20 employees; and to have a turnover of at least CZK
30 million. The final selection then lies in the secrets
held by the organizer, the Comenius "non-governmental
organization", and its very well-connected representative
Karel Muzikář. The Prague Tribune cross-checked the list
of names and companies represented in the first "100
Best" contest (circa 1996) with the list of names of
former StB agents published by the ministry of interior,
as well as Cibulka's lists. By looking at the commercial
registry at www.justice.cz, which shows all board members
of those companies, we have identified no less than 25 names
(according to birth dates) which ranked in Cibulka's lists,
but only 11 that ranked in the ministry of interior's files.
The cross-reference revealed former or current representatives
in the statutory bodies of the following companies: ABB,
Čechofracht, ČEZ, Chemapol, ČSPL, Deza, Economia group, Eurotel
Praha, Karlovarská Becherovka, Královopolská, Plzeňský Prazdroj,
Škoda a. s., Škoda auto, Škoda Export, Středočeská energetika,
Severočeské doly, Technoexport, Transgas, Vítkovice, Železárny
Veselí and ZPS. We couldn't identify some people with 100%
accuracy, as their birth date wasn't available, and therefore
did not include their company in this list.
Philippe Riboton with the assistance of Pavlína Prášková |
| Outsider's view
Photo: Petr Novotný |
Ron van Oijen, chairman, ING CR/SR
How did you react to the recent publication of the list
of former StB collaborators published by the ministry of
interior?
I have heard about this list, but didn't care much. I guess
Czech people also have mixed feelings about it.
What do you think of the fact that names of several high-ranking
busi-ness people are included in this list?
A pity for the company and the person.
How would you have reacted if the name of one of your senior
executives would have been published in this list?
As a company, I would ask them to leave, because it might
hurt the image of the company.
Did you check the list for names of your employees?
Yes, we've checked, and it appears that no one in our company
is listed.
In your opinion, what does the publication of this list
mean for the Czech society today, 14 years after the end
of the communist regime?
It shows transparency, but I doubt if Czechs care about knowing
who is on the list. Especially young managers. It might be
revenge for some people.
Photo: Petr Poliak |
Alexis Juan, chairman of the board and general director,
Komerční banka
How did you react to the recent publication of the list
of former StB collaborators published by the ministry of
interior?
As a foreigner living in the Czech Republic, I certainly
do not have the same concerns about the list of former StB
collaborators as Czech society may have. For me, it is an
issue that concerns the Czech people.
What do you think of the fact that names of several high-ranking
business people are included in this list?
As long as the former StB collaborators are skillful, trustful
and reliable, with no criminal past and not pursued by the
courts, I do not have a negative perception of the fact that
several high-ranking business people are named in this list.
In your opinion, what does the publication of this list
mean for the Czech society today, 14 years after the end
of the communist regime?
The existence of the StB and its collaborators was strictly
linked to the former regime and was one of the powerful tools
of the communist system. Today, we have to be careful in
our judgement in terms of mixing different kinds of profiles
into one group of StB collaborators, without trying to recognize
their real personality. As I said earlier, for me it is the
credibility, openness, and professionalism of people that
counts. |
Photo:
David Holas |
Marco Pařík: "A warning
for all of us"
Marco Pařík is one of the most successful entrepreneurs
in the Czech Republic. He runs a large number of companies,
which include Delta Pekárny, the largest baked goods producer
in the country. He's also a free-spirited man unafraid of
voicing his own opinion. In an exclusive interview with The
Prague Tribune, he expressed his views on the ministry of
interior recent release of the list of former StB agents.
What was your first impression when you heard about the
upcoming release of the list of former StB agents?
"
I told myself: so this thing which I had been waiting for
so long is finally happening...I couldn't wait to see this
country clean itself of all those former agents and corrupted
people who infiltrated our entire society."
What has been your first reaction when you saw it?
"
I was strongly disappointed, as I think the release of the
list has been managed so that a lot of suspicion would be
created around it. It's been done so that the real big guys
wouldn't be in it, and that those who are actually listed
could still say that they were there by mistake. I didn't
find the names of those people that I knew for sure had been
active agents. In the end I didn't discover anything new." What would have been your reaction if you had discovered
the name of one your managers in there?
"
If his or her birth date would have been in there, allowing
no possible confusion with anybody else, and that person
was listed as a former active agent, I would have fired him
or her on the spot. This is one of those things that nobody
can truly erase from his or her past, and would be the ultimate
proof that they could not be trusted. If a person has such
a track record of betrayal, how can you be sure they will
not betray your company?"
How did you perceive the reaction of Czech society overall
to that release?
"
My hope was it would have the effect of an atomic bomb. In
the end it has had no impact at all. I think there was a
general consensus that it would be quickly forgotten."
Why
do you think it happened that way?
"
I think the influence in business of those hidden networks
is still huge. Remember that those people who were 30 to
40 years old before the revolution and were part of the StB
enjoyed very powerful positions. Now they are in their fifties,
and they have kept the same networks very much alive. They
managed to manipulate disinformation on this topic because
they had such big interests at stake. It should have had
some strong consequences in terms of honor for a certain
number of those people, even resulting in their resignation.
Whereas they managed to manipulate things so that the people
pointing at their names in the list would look like the foolish
ones." What did you learn from that episode?
"
In my opinion the lesson is that we are still in constant
danger. I strongly believe that we still don't live in a
true democracy. Those old networks are still extremely prevalent
in the Czech society, and they can harm you anytime, particularly
in areas related to politics, the justice system or public
administration. This should serve as a warning for all of
us."
Interview by Philippe Riboton |
|
