Havel denounces Rath's statements about supreme attorney

Former Czech president Vaclav Havel has sharply denounced the statement by opposition Social Democrat (CSSD) deputy David Rath that Supreme State Attorney Renata Vesecka is a subordinate of the government because the government appointed her, in weekly Respekt out today.

Havel said he is shocked that a person who in his anti-government fervour repeatedly made the above statement in a television debate can be a deputy.

"The president appoints the Constitutional Court chairman. This would mean according to Rath’s notion of democracy that he is the president’s subordinate," Havel told the weekly.

Havel was Czechoslovak president from December 1989 till July 1992, and Czech president from January 1993 till early 2003.

He said in Respekt that he thinks that Czech politics are becoming estranged from the public and society, and that they become an object of ridicule that is not good at all.

"As the media participate in this, we live from a scandal to a scandal, and when the government is somehow connected with it, politics become estranged from citizens that will eventually turn against them. I consider this to be warning, more important than whether this or another gentleman or lady is the minister," Havel said.

He mentioned the case of deputy PM Jiri Cunek (Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL), who has been accused of corruption.

Cunek is suspected of accepting a half-a-million-crown bribe from a private company when he was mayor of Vsetin, north Moravia, in 2002. He has dismissed the accusation and refused to resign from the government.

Havel said Cunek should have resigned or been dismissed long ago.

He said the corruption suspicion is quite a simple criminal case that will be solved sooner or later. But Cunek’s attitude to the Romany minority may be much worse, Havel said.

"With the Romanies it is worse, it meets with support in society, many people feel relief that someone (Cunek) has not been afraid to tell that Romanies make messes, and decided to deport them. This is much more dangerous from the social and historical points of view than one bribe," Havel said.

Cunek had rent-defaulters moved from the centre of Vsetin to new container-like flats on the town’s edge and a few families to other places elsewhere in Moravia.

He replied to a paper reader’s question saying that if he wants the government to notice him, he would have to get sunburnt and make messes in squares, alluding to Romanies’ behaviour.

Havel also reacted to the recent information that Richard Sacher and Miroslav Vacek who became the interior and defence ministers, respectively, after the fall of the previous regime in late 1989 were registered as secret collaborators of the communist military counter-intelligence that was part of the secret police StB.

Havel said "in the first months after the revolution I really could appoint minister anyone whom I wanted, and if someone had submitted conclusive documents proving that the person I wanted to appoint was an agent who denounced people for money, I would not have simply appointed him. In silence, I would not have made any public scandal," Havel said adding that such cases happened.

He said some people got reach of various kinds of documents and secret boxes earlier than others, and did not hand them to others.

"I don’t know whether it was good, or not, but no one can be susprised that an agent could become minister at that time," Havel said.