Council chairwoman rejects accusations firing was political

The Council of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes denied on Monday that politics had any role in the recent sacking of Daniel Herman as head of the institute. Council chairwoman Petruška Šustrová said his firing had come not at the order of any political party but stressed that the council had not been satisfied with Mr Herman’s work. She added that the situation was currently being politicized by politicians and the media, and expressed surprise over how the situation had escalated. The head of the confederation of political prisoners, Nadězda Kavalírová (a member of the council who opposed Mr Herman’s firing) maintained the opposite: that the council was acting politically, ČTK reported.