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Worrying signal

Plans for a U.S. radar base in the Czech Republic are moving ahead fast, with the government not saying much and public opposition mounting

By Kimberly Ashton
and Jeff White
Staff Writers, The Prague Post
January 31st, 2007 issue

KURT VINION/THE PRAGUE POST
About 400 people gathered in front of the U.S. Embassy Jan. 29 to protest the Czech government's consideration of a U.S. radar base.
Hundreds of protesters marched Jan. 29 against a planned radar base that the United States wants to build in the Czech Republic, a sign that as the government here continues to debate the proposal it must contend with a rising tide of public opposition against it.
The rally, organized by the group No to Base, was officially banned by City Hall. But it still snaked its way from Wenceslas Square through Old Town and Malá Strana before stopping at the U.S. Embassy. It moved on to the Government’s Office and ended peacefully, police said.
It came 10 days after Washington, D.C., formally approached the Czech government with a request to build a radar base as part of a proposed European arm of its missile defense shield (the U.S. plans to build a corresponding missile base in Poland).
“Missiles are not a matter of peace, be they Russian or be they American,” Czech activist Peter Uhl told the crowd.
In a country where the government is known to mull issues for months, plans for the radar base appear to be moving at breakneck speed. The official request came from Washington Jan. 19. In the days that followed, a site for the base has been named — in Jince, central Bohemia — and the United States said Boeing is already on board to build the facility, which will house 200 U.S. soldiers. U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic Richard Graber discussed the issue with regional mayors Jan. 27–28.
All of this, and the Czech government has yet to hold a formal hearing on the matter, even though Parliament must approve the request before any ground can be broken. That has people inside and outside the government wondering whether any debate on the issue will be merely for show.
ČTK
Topolánek says the U.S. radar base could look like the NATO one in Nepolisy.
A foregone conclusion?
Protestors at this week’s rally renewed their call for a public referendum before the government makes any decision on the radar base.
But they cited the speed at which the issue is moving as perhaps evidence that they are fighting a foregone conclusion.
“Unfortunately, I think that they [the government] have already decided,” said Marie Hejduková, 75.
Lubomír Zaorálek, a deputy member of the Social Democrats (ČSSD), raised similar concerns in an interview with The Prague Post.
He said the ČSSD is having an internal debate about whether to support the base and whether to call for a referendum on the issue, and that most party members appear to oppose the base and want a referendum.
Yet, he added, it doesn’t seem that negotiations about the radar base have been transparent. Parliament is supposed to decide on the issue but has been the last to be informed, he said
“It seems that the whole procedure is all wrong. It is done in such a way that it already manipulates the opinion of the public,” he said. “The government is trying to force their opinion and, even within the government, [the coalition] doesn’t have a clear vision of this issue.”
Green Party spokeswoman Eva Rolečková said her party is “willing to consider this offer, but we would definitely prefer an agreement among more states. We would like the radar base to be a part of a NATO defense system rather than just one [contingent] on cooperation between Czech Republic and the U.S.”
Mayors weigh in
Meanwhile, the mayors of several communities that border the large military zone in Jince where the U.S. wants to build the base are voicing their opinion, after meeting recently with Graber and other Czech officials.
The purpose of the meeting, they said, was to give them an opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns.
“It was a positive first meeting,” said Josef Řihák, the mayor of Příbram, the largest town near the military zone.
Still, Řihák said, there is a sense that towns are getting their information from the newspapers, not directly from the government. He noted that regional mayors learned about the Jince choice through news reports.
“For me, I have a problem with the radar base, because I think that the presence of the radar base should be decided through a referendum,” Řihák said.
He added that he has concerns about the effect a base would have on local water supplies.
Jince Mayor Josef Hála said most of his residents “are against the base.”
Is it worth it?
Since 2001, the Bush administration has been pouring billions of dollars into missile-defense technology that, so far, has been ineffective, according to Philip E. Coyle III, a senior analyst at the Center for Defense Information, a Washington think tank.
In an interview, Coyle said that the U.S. government has spent $10 billion (215.6 billion Kč) a year on its missile shield since 2001 and is slated to spend more than $11 billion this year. This figure is almost four times more than is spent on energy research, which could make the United States less dependent on oil from the Middle East, he said.
Whether this money is being put to good use is debatable. Of the 11 tests done so far using the existing shield’s radar stations and corresponding missiles, five have failed.
But Czechs seem not to be debating these larger points. As evidence from those gathered on Wenceslas Square, some are concerned about government transparency, while others are rankled by the prospect of any foreign base on Czech soil.
Retired Col. Jaroslav Časar, 65, is one. He said that, as in 1968, he opposes having foreign troops in the country. He said he thinks that a base here will break the strategic balance in Europe and that Russia will have to take measures against it.
Hela Balínová and Naďa Černá contributed to this report.

The writers can be reached at news@praguepost.com


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