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Massive crowds protest radar

As May approaches, U.S. defense treaty signing looms large

By Kimberly Hiss
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
April 23rd, 2008 issue

With the anticipated May signing of a Czech–U.S. agreement to build a radar base southwest of Prague only weeks away, opponents of the plan staged one of the largest anti-radar rallies to date.
Organized by the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM), the April 19 protest drew an estimated 2,000 demonstrators to the edge of the Brdy military grounds where the base is to be built as an extension of the European missile-defense shield.
“We consider Saturday’s protest very successful, despite the bad weather,” said KSČM spokeswoman Monika Hoření. “There were not only members and supporters of the KSČM but the general public as well — people of all ages, even with children.”
Demonstrators arrived in buses to march with anti-radar banners through the wooded area along the military grounds. There they laid a black cross and a wreath, which Hoření said symbolized “the sadness over the possible threat to Czech sovereignty that the Czech Republic would lose with foreign army soldiers at the radar base,” a reference to the U.S. military presence that would be established by the SOFA agreement, which could also be signed by U.S. and Czech officials in May.
The march ended with a gathering in the nearby town of Míšov where Mayor Pavel Hrubý, along with other area leaders and KSČM representatives, addressed protesters.
Local concerns about the base include fears over possible health risks and environmental threats, both of which were dispelled by U.S. Ambassador Richard Graber during a visit to the area this week. News polls estimate that roughly two-thirds of Czechs oppose the radar base.
The KSČM has repeatedly called for a public referendum on the radar base issue, having presented three bills attempting to establish such a vote. The party is also urging lawmakers to vote down the bilateral Czech-U.S. radar agreement, which is expected to be signed in Prague during a May 5 visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The treaty would then have to be ratified by Czech Parliament and the U.S. Congress.  
The KSČM staged an anti-radar rally last September and plans more such activities in the coming weeks.
“It is clear that the protest will have to move to the capital, where the bilateral treaty will be signed,” Hoření said.
— Naďa Černá contributed
to this report.
Kimberly Hiss can be reached at
khiss@praguepost.com

Kimberly Hiss can be reached at news@praguepost.com


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