Pressure mounts on Prime Minister over Pribyl appointment

Angry crowds gathered outside government buildings on Tuesday to protest against Prime Minister Stanislav Gross's appointment of Pavel Prybyl as head of the Office of Government. Mr Gross has been coming under increasing pressure to remove Mr Pribyl amid allegations that he headed a riot-police unit that was sent to break up anti-communist protests on the streets of Prague in 1989.

Pressure mounts on Prime Minister over Pribyl appointment

Pavel Pribyl, photo: CTK

Mr Gross, however, rejects these claims. He says he believes that Pavel Pribyl would have been too young to have had any real power in 1989. He also maintains that Mr Pribyl is a trustworthy and capable official who had passed the standard screening test required of all state employees.

Radio Prague went to the demonstration and asked some of those attending why they had turned out to protest:

"We decided to come because a guy who was a leader of the troops in 1989 has now been appointed as an official political leader. People find this [sort of situation] ridiculous."

Mr Gross claims that Mr Pribyl underwent a screening process and that he was clean. Do you believe this?

"Well it depends who has been doing the screening process. It could be that the people doing the screening process were his friends. We know that Mr Gross is saying that he relies only on facts, but the question is who is behind these facts."

Pavel Pribyl, photo: CTK

Why are you here today?

"I'm here to protest against the director of staff of our prime minister or government, because I think a person who commanded special police forces under the communist regime just shouldn't do this work." But Mr Gross said that he passed an official screening process, so there shouldn't any problem with him. Do you accept this? I find that really strange. He commanded police forces, so he must have been a member of the Communist Party and he must have been at the top level. So there must be something rotten in the screening process." Do you think this controversy augurs well for the Gross government? "I have some hopes for the government. What's strange for me is that Mr Gross's coalition partners don't protest against Mr Pribyl's nomination. But I believe this may change. As we all know from the recent past, the Christian Union and the Freedom Union are very much involved in combating communists. So I hope that they will wake up and protest against this."

Could I ask you why you are here today?

Protest against Pribyl in front of government office, photo: CTK

"It's ridiculous that the guy who was in charge of the "gorillas" in 1989 is now chief of the Office of the Government. So I'm here to protest against this outrage."

But according to Mr Gross, Mr Pribyl has passed a screening process and, in his eyes, he's clean. Do you believe him?

"I think I would have to question a process that deems this guy untainted. Because according to everything I read and everything I hear from people, including historians of recent Czech history, this guy was running at least one of the units of the people that were brutally beating up demonstrators - men, women, children, and everyone else who showed up [in 1989], including some passersby."

What sort of message do you think the appointment of a man like this to such a senior government position send out to other countries?

"Obviously it shows that the government is rotten to the core. If this can happen here, it means that there is total disrespect for the past. It seems that the people who ruled here for fifty years and basically ruined the country are now starting to raise their heads again."

Protest against Pribyl in front of government office, photo: CTK

Despite meeting some of those speaking at the rally, Mr Gross still refuses to sack Pavel Pribyl. He did say, however, that if anyone can actually produce conclusive evidence that Mr Pribyl beat up demonstrators in 1989 or led a unit that did so, he would remove him from his post as head of the Office of Government.

So far, no such evidence has been forthcoming, so it looks like Mr Gross might be digging his heels in and waiting for the storm to blow over. It will be interesting, however, to see how his coalition partners react if the story stays in the news.

As one of the demonstrators pointed out, the other coalition parties might be uncomfortable with having someone with a communist past in such a senior position. Indeed, the defence minister Karel Kuhnl of the Freedom Union has already voiced his concerns about the appointment. So people like Mr Kuhnl and representatives from the other coalition parties might end up forcing Mr Gross's hand. This could turn out to be the first major test of Mr. Gross's authority as Prime Minister.