The newly-appointed head of the Slovak National Library (SNK), Dušan Katuščák, has promised that he never entered into any sort of collaboration with the communist-era secret police, the ŠtB, Culture Minister Daniel Krajcer told journalists on Tuesday, November 23.
Krajcer's comments came in the wake of reports that the Nation's Memory Institute (ÚPN) holds a record of Katuščák having been an ŠtB agent. He had reportedly held several lower-ranking positions before becoming an agent in November 1988. Katuščák's personal file has been destroyed, however.
According to Krajcer, Katuščák told him about several instances when both he and his relatives had experienced persecution at the hands of the communist regime. Krajcer also told the TASR newswire that he did the right thing when appointing Katuščák on a conditional basis, pending his security clearance. This is expected to be issued in the coming months.
Katuščák's appointment was preceded by the decision of a selection commission that chose Katuščák for the post in a secret ballot. Krajcer said that if the National Security Bureau (NBÚ) concludes that Katuščák was indeed engaged in ties with ŠtB, he will be dismissed as head of the SNK with immediate effect.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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