On trial

Andor Šándor, a former head of Czech military intelligence, said it better than we could: "The CR is insanely infested with all kinds of rumors about corruption, about who gave how many millions to whom," he told Czech Radio yesterday. "In combination with all the conspiracy theories and the parasitism of StB agents..., the country is becoming rather strongly contaminated." The list of events is long: Former Communists, StB collaborators and militiamen in the government, central bank and Czech TV; alleged corruption in the Gripen fighter deal; charges dropped against government representatives at ČEZ who clearly violated the intent of the law; dead-ends in the Kubice organized-crime investigation; several people directly involved in the scandals still sitting in the cabinet. And no one doing anything about it! The CR's transition to democracy and free enterprise is on trial, and it risks losing in the court of public opinion. [Czech Republic Television corruption]