I am sure that Tom Nicholson wrote the original article in good faith. The only way to write something like that and take the risk of being challenged is to avoid using hearsay evidence about corruption and back it up with an affidavit to the effect that the experiences are true and correct.
Had Tom used hearsay, he would likely have been branded 'anti-Slovak' or something; he would probably, without the 'hands-on' approach, have decided not to write the article. Had he not written the article, fewer people would have known about this issue, and likely less would be done about it!
What you guys are doing is discouraging journalists from raising the issue on account of your scruples; this, in my view, defeats the object. A sore, I am sure we all agree, has to be removed, or at least reduced.
Oscar Stolk
