DATE=10/12/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=ITALY - K-G-B- SPIES (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-254926
BYLINE=SABINA CASTELFRANCO
DATELINE=ROME
CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO:  Italy's prime minister says his government 
will not be weakened by publication of a list of names 
of alleged Italian spies for the Soviet K-G-B during 
the cold war.  He accused the center-right opposition 
of using the matter to launch a campaign to discredit 
the government.  Sabina Castelfranco reports from 
Rome. 

TEXT:  Italy's Prime Minister Massimo d'Alema defended 
the government's action with regard to a list of names 
of Italians who allegedly spied for the Soviet Union 
during the Cold War.  He said the government had 
handled the affair in a public and open manner.

Italy's center-right opposition at first accused the 
government of trying to keep the documents secret and 
then demanded that the government resign over the 
matter.  Now, the opposition has asked that a new 
parliamentary commission be established to carry out 
an investigation.

The list contains the names of more than 250 Italians 
who are said to have been informants or contacts of 
the Soviet K-G-B.  The list was made public Monday 
after intense pressure from the news media and from 
politicians on both sides of the political divide.

The list is part of the documents smuggled to Britain 
by K-G-B archivist Vasili Mitrokhin in 1992 when he 
defected from the former Soviet Union.  It includes 
the names of Italian politicians, academics, 
journalists, and even a monk.

The information is varied.  Some of the names on the 
list are in code, others are being listed as being 
"cultivated" by the K-G-B or other Soviet intelligence 
agencies.  Not all are described as full-fledged 
salaried spies.

Prime Minister d'Alema -- Italy's first former 
communist leader of government -- played down the 
importance of the list.  Mr. D'Alema said most of the 
information does not appear to be new.  He also said 
it is up to magistrates to find out if those named had 
acted as spies.  

Under Italian law, anyone found guilty of espionage 
faces at least 15-years in prison.

One of the first names that leaked even before the 
government allowed publication of the list was that of 
Armando Cossutta, the leader of the small party of 
Italian Communists which supports the government 
majority.  Mr. Cossutta acknowledged that he always 
maintained extensive contacts with the Soviet Union, 
but said the idea that he was a spy is simply 
ridiculous. 

Many others, whose names appeared on the list, have 
also denied any wrongdoing.  (Signed)

NEB/SC/JWH/ENE/gm



12-Oct-1999 12:38 PM EDT (12-Oct-1999 1638 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
.