SLOVAKIA’S intelligence service, the SIS, should be under joint control of all four political parties of the governing coalition, said Richard Sulík, the chairman of the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party, according to a report in the Sme daily on August 31.
According to Sme, Sulík said that an agreement on such joint control had already been reached and it requires the new SIS director, Karol Mitrík – nominated by the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) – to have three deputies, one nominated by each of the other three coalition partners.
However both Prime Minister Iveta Radičová from SDKÚ and Béla Bugár, the head of the Most-Híd party, said that this was not the case.
“There is no such agreement,” Bugár told Sme. “It’s not true. I’m even against SIS having three deputy heads.” Bugár did admit that SaS had made such a proposal during coalition talks but said that further discussion of the issue had been interrupted because it was first necessary to appoint the head of the SIS.
“The agreement should be announced when it is closed,” said Interior Minister Daniel Lipšic of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), Sme wrote. “I’m not sure whether ongoing [internal] negotiations should always be published. It’s strange that discussions about the intelligence service are being led in this way.”
Sme noted that members of Slovakia’s intelligence service are supposed to be apolitical appointments.
6. Sep 2010 at 0:00 | Compiled by Spectator staff
