Prague, June 15th 1993. The Prague Post (a weekly published in English in the Czech capital) publishes in its last issue a letter sent to its Editor by Paolo Pietrosanti, member of the General Council of the Radical Party.

Here is the text of the letter:

»Dear Editor,

I've been abroad for several weeks, and only upon coming back, recently did I read what has been written about the words of Magdalena Babicka in the occasion of Miss Czech and Slovak Republics beauty contest.

I was above all impressed by one element, which I believe has not been noticed by those who gave commented on the event.

Babicka said »I want to became a Prosecutor so that I can help clean Usti nad Labem and other Czech cities of residents of darker skin .

What astonishes me thinking is that she doesn't want to be a Rambo to "clean" the town and the country; she doesn't want to become a parliamentarian to propose laws capable to defend good people against the dangerous "dark-skins": she wants to become a prosecutor. She believes that the law, the judicial system in this country, is an instruments to be used to "clean" the country.

There is a lot to fear here, and it is not racism in itself. Everyone is racist; racism is in each of us and often it becames more deep and dangerous in those who make "anti-racism" their own priority - just because they continue to consider someone's skin something that makes the difference.

Rather it is dangerous when people start to consider it reasonable to look at the State, at the institutions, at the judicial system, at Laws and Right as the entities entrusted to with keeping the community "clean".