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Sealed deal

After Condoleezza Rice's signature, radar treaty awaits approval by Parliament

By Ondřej Bouda
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
July 9th, 2008 issue

MICHAEL HEITMANN/The Prague Post
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JAN PŘEROVSKÝ/THE PRAGUE POST
Greenpeace activists demonstrated atop Letná Park on the morning of Rice's visit.
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MICHAEL HEITMANN/The Prague Post
Rice and Topolánek praised the agreement at a press conference July 8.
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Amid tight security and multiple protests, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Prague July 8 to sign the long-expected radar treaty. Her trip to finalize the bilateral agreement on the construction of the base as part of the missile-defense shield had been postponed since May.
Rice landed in Terminal 3 at Ruzyně International Airport shortly after 10 a.m. Tuesday, in time for a morning press conference with Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek.
“The long road to democracy for the Czech Republic has taken the past 20 years; the fact that the treaty is subject to parliamentary ratification is another sign of democracy,” Rice told reporters. She added that, “the radar base is key to defense against Iranian ballistic missiles, and it will enhance NATO defense capability.”
Topolánek likewise signaled his enthusiasm for the treaty. “We failed in the past by refusing the Marshall plan,” he said in reference to the U.S. initiative meant to rebuild a stronger Europe following World War II. “We cannot fail again.”
After speaking about global security issues involving Iraq and Afghanistan, Topolánek stated that trans-Atlantic relations would be a key issue for the Czech EU presidency, and thanked Rice for this year’s admission of the Czech Republic into the U.S. visa-waiver program.
From the press conference, Rice proceeded to Černíský Palác, where she met with Foreign Affairs Minister Karel Schwarzenberg for the treaty signing.
Another treaty related to the base, the SOFA Agreement, which provides the framework for the stationing of U.S. troops at the radar site, was not ready for official signature by the time of Rice’s visit. The agreement is reportedly being held up because of the issue of taxation of U.S. staff at the base.
Despite Rice’s July 7 meeting with Polish Foreign Affairs Minister Radosław Sikorski, the future of the related missile-defense treaty between Washington and Warsaw to construct a base for 10 interceptor missiles in Poland remained unclear.
From Prague, Rice was scheduled to continue her European trip with stops in Bulgaria and Georgia.
The case against
The Czech-U.S. treaty signing was accompanied by a series of protests throughout the Czech capital. In the morning, Greenpeace activists demonstrated by draping a large target sign from the Pendulum landmark in Letná Park.
Another demonstration held by the No Bases Initiative was set to take place that evening on Wenceslas Square. Group organizer Jan Tamáš promised that anti-radar protests would not stop even though the treaty had been signed. “We now want to concentrate on the politicians who will have to approve the treaty and convince them it is not in the best interest of the country,” he said.
The signed treaty now has to be ratified by Parliament. However, the number of votes in support of the agreement in the Chamber of Deputies is in question, making the treaty’s future uncertain.
The majority of Green Party deputies, for example, are currently against ratification and want to hold out on the agreement until a new U.S. administration is elected this November. The party is also calling for the radar base to be fully integrated into NATO defense systems.
“The treaty is being signed while U.S. military doctrine is based on pre-emptive wars,” the Social Democratic Party said in a July 7 statement. “In this situation, the whole world anticipates that the future U.S. president will definitely rethink the current foreign military conception of the United States, which also means being more open to dialogue.”  

Ondřej Bouda can be reached at news@praguepost.com


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