Report by the Chairman of the Delegation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, Comrade Colonel Jan Kovach, during Bloc Meeting on Western Radio

24 April 1980

Report
By the Chairman of the Delegation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, Comrade Colonel Jan Kovach

The forms of ideological sabotage have significantly changed. If until recently more or less passive propagandistic forms were used to support the oppositionist elements in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, currently this support is becoming more active and its goal is to shape them into a political opposition.

The enemy’s centers for ideological sabotage in the West have taken on the task of constantly informing the public in the capitalist countries, in a distorted and slanderous manner, on the state of the political atmosphere in Czechoslovakia, and in this way to exert pressure on members of the Western governments to enlist in the anti-Czechoslovak campaigns.

The enemy’s special bureaus and its centers for ideological sabotage also strive to draw in some non-governmental organizations, in order to achieve the creation of different kinds of “committees” and groups, whose activities would be aimed against socialist Czechoslovakia.

These committees and groups, as well as the reactionary emigrants, organize many anti-Czechoslovak and anti-Soviet provocations in the capitalist countries, such as protest rallies in front of the buildings of our country’s official representation agencies, different demonstrations, and so on, or else provisions are made for publishing anti-socialist lampoons, using for this such subversive publications as “Index” and “Dialogue” in the German Federal Republic, “Confrontation” in Switzerland, and other similar ones, acting closely with the radio stations Free Europe, Liberty, BBC, the Voice of America. [...]

We give special attention to the timely uncovering of the enemy’s intentions concerning the meeting in Madrid. We also want to [share] documents concerning the violation and non-adherence on the part of the capitalist countries to the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

We will also give special attention to churches, church organizations, and religious fanatics and their contact with the Vatican to avoid national politics being disturbed with respect to the church, and so that a tie is not formed between the reactionary clergy and the anti-socialist groups in the republic.

Many tasks, as in the past, we will perform in close cooperation with you, the counter-intelligence workers in the fraternal countries. They pertain mostly to the tasks relating to the problems of the church; the centers for ideological sabotage; to secure the meeting in Madrid; to undertake [actions against] OUN, NTS, Free Europe, and Liberty; and the most important task: to secure operationally the Olympic games in Moscow.