"I remembered a quite special kind of support that came at the time I had to leave the clergy, and it lasted for many years. I received letters and greeting cards from abroad, mainly from the Nordic countries - Denmark, Sweden, and also Holland. They were mostly postcards saying how they felt for me, backed me and so on. It was so encouraging. There was a really large number of them. For example, the postwoman would bring ten or fifteen of these cards and she always wondered what was going on. I did a bit of research afterwards, because I exchanged letters with some of the people, and they even visited us, in those later years. It came about because somebody described my story in a Christian magazine, and it came out as an article, and these people sort took it as a kind of a challenge and at least tried to help me with these postcards, and it was very nice. We even made some stronger friendships out of it. The Dutch visited us about twice, and our first trip abroad in 1990 when things got relaxed was to Holland to pay them back with our visit. It's just a memory now, but it was very important at that time."
"I was a little worried about what was going to happen. I knew various other cases where the State Security did various things, so I was worried. Things escalated then because there were more interrogations; it wasn't just this one but more followed. Then I was called to Brno, to the regional HQ where I went through a lot more, and things got really serious there. Of course, they accused me of putting up the flag intentionally on the day before 21 August, the 10th anniversary of the invasion. I will admit that I kind of thought it could be hanging there, but that wasn't the original intention. Well, then they started accusing me of some anti-government statements, quoting things I said in a sermon. Of course I denied it, but they played the tape for me. I mean, they probably went to the church or had somebody there to record my sermons. That's how I knew I'd been in that kind of a spotlight for a long time, maybe quite a long time, maybe even since I signed the Charter. That means they were could have been watching me and checking me out as much as they could for about a year."
"This is a little sadder story... It wasn't so bad with the Charter yet, although I did hear an occasional remark, but I didn't have to defend myself. But then when I lost my state approval, that's when I felt I was written off, literally. Only it wasn't the bishop; it was the chapter vicar here and he was afraid I might affect things, afraid of showing maybe too much kindness to me or accommodating me and so on. He said to me, 'Just find something, find a job.' 'What should I look for?' I looked for about six months before I found a job. Mind you, I wasn't looking for anything special; I wanted to be... a warehouse worker or a driver or something like that. When I said who I was - plus I was still under prosecution at the time, accused of disobeying a public official - that was also the reason anyone wouldn't hire me."
"I also perceived Palach's death quite strongly. At the time, it almost earned me being expelled from school, but I still organized a march with a classmate on the day of his funeral. We called all the high schools in Třebíč to a little square and we were there, and then I arranged a memorial mass for him in the basilica. Then we went again in a procession to the basilica. The next day, of course, the principal called me and my classmate in. It was 1969 so he didn't have the nerve. Maybe if it had been a year later he would have kicked us out without mercy, but back then he was just scolding us and stuff. Actually, maybe he was more worried that there might be a secret collaborator... well, we got a reprimand or something for organizing it."
František Bublan was born in Třebíč on 13 January 1951. His values were shaped by his upbringing in a Catholic family and membership in a scout troop, which operated under the guise of a tourist club during the totalitarian era. As a student of the Třebíč grammar school, he organised a march of high school students in honour of Jan Palach. Having graduated, he entered the College of Agriculture, but decided to become a priest after two years and transferred to the Faculty of Theology in Litoměřice. After his ordination to the priesthood he worked in the as a priest in Mikulov and Břeclav. His priestly ministry was short-lived - as a result of him signing Charter 77 and engaging in other anti-regime activities, his state approval of priesthood was withdrawn. He worked first as a driver with Potraviny Brno, then with medical rescue service in the Tišnov hospital. He continued his independent activities even after starting a family. He disseminated samizdat literature and worked with the Committee for the Defence of the Unjustly Prosecuted (VONS). After the Velvet Revolution, he joined the BIS. In 2001, he was appointed Director of the Civil Intelligence Service (ÚZSI) where he served until 2004 when he accepted the post of Minister of the Interior. From 2006 to 2018, he served as a deputy and later a senator for the Social Democratic Party (ČSSD). In 2019, he was elected a member of the Council of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes (ÚSTR).
