Akce Asanace (English: Sanitation Act) was the cover name for a Czechoslovak StB (secret police) operation in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with which the Communist regime tried to force inconvenient people, especially signatories of Charter 77, to leave the country. Various forms of psychological and physical coercion and blackmail were used, including forcing individuals to emigrate.[1] Prominent individuals against whom this was used include Milan Hlavsa, Vratislav Brabenec, Vlastimil Třešňák,[2] Jaroslav Jeroným Neduha, Jaroslav Hutka, Svatopluk Karásek, Václav Malý, Karol Sidon, Petr Cibulka, and Pavel Landovský.

Origin and progression

On 21 December 1977, then-Minister of the Interior, Jaromír Obzina,[3] issued an order to "achieve the complete disintegration and isolation of the main organizers of Charter 77 from other signatories, and the selected organizers of this event to be evicted from the Czechoslovak Republic". The StB focused especially on younger and lesser-known dissidents, because they were not so visible and their persecution did not provoke significant protest.[4] Common methods of coercion were physical violence and blackmail.[4] For those who agreed to emigrate, the StB ensured that all necessary formalities were completed without complications.[4] Pressure peaked between 1980 and 1981, as the government was afraid the Charter 77 movement would join forces with Poland's nascent Solidarity.[4]

In all, 280 signatories of Charter 77, i.e., about 15% of the total number, were forced to emigrate, including ten members of the Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Prosecuted (VONS).[5][4] The operation also swept up dissidents that had not signed the charter, such as Radko Pavlovec, a noted anti-fascist activist who had been imprisoned between 1952 and 1960 at the Jáchymov labor camp. Akce Asanace ended in 1984 and was followed by a similar operation, named Akce Klín.[6]

Aftermath and trials

In 1999, criminal trials of several politicians and members of the StB associated with Akce Asanace began and continue to this day. Jaromír Obzina escaped conviction, as he died in January 2003. Most of those convicted have received suspended sentences.[7][8][9] In September 2021, courts recognized four additional StB employees who had persecuted Charter 77 signatories such as Vratislav Brabenec of The Plastic People of the Universe and Jaroslav Jeroným Neduha of Extempore, though their verdicts have not been finalized yet.[10]

The term "Asanace" has been used in contexts that refer to government persecution or prohibition, as in the case of Asanace2, a call for the Czech government to legalize the use and growing of cannabis products.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Abeceda komunistických zločinů: Od "androše" k Asanaci" [The Alphabet of Communist Crimes: From "Androš" to Asanace]. idnes.cz (in Czech). 3 January 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  2. ↑ "Vlastimil Třešňák". reflex.cz (in Czech). 15 June 2008. Archived from the original on 15 June 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  3. ↑ "Krajští šéfové StB pro nemoc nepřišli" [Regional heads of StB did not attend due to illness]. idnes.cz (in Czech). 27 May 2002. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Navara, Luděk; Albrecht, Josef (2010). "A". Abeceda komunismu. Brno: HOST. p. 16. ISBN 978-80-7294-340-1.
  5. ↑ "Seznam členů VONS" [List of VONS members]. totalita.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  6. ↑ "Celostátní projekt "klín"" [Nationwide Project "Klín"]. cibulka.net (in Czech). Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  7. ↑ "Soud poslal dva estébáky do vězení za týrání disidentů" [The court sent two StB members to prison for torturing dissidents]. cesky-dialog.net (in Czech). Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  8. ↑ "Úřad dokumentace a vyšetřování zločinů komunismu" [The Office of Documentation and Investigation of Crimes of Communism] (PDF) (in Czech). Ústav pro studium totalitních režimů. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  9. ↑ "Důstojníci StB u soudu za akci Asanace" [StB officers in court for Akce Asanace]. svet.czsk.net (in Czech). Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  10. ↑ "Soud uznal vinnými čtyři bývalé příslušníky StB. Šikanovali disidenty a nutili je k emigraci" [The court found four former StB members guilty. They bullied dissidents and forced them to emigrate]. irozhlas.cz (in Czech). 9 September 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  11. ↑ "Asanace2". asanace2.cz (in Czech). 10 August 2016. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2022.

Further reading


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