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Towns receive radar subsidies

1.25 billion Kč in total will be allotted to 22 municipalities near base

By Curtis M. Wong
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
August 27th, 2008 issue

The first government subsidies have been sent to west and central Bohemian municipalities close to the planned U.S. radar base, but local civic associations insist the money will have little impact on the anti-radar sentiments of area residents.  
According to Finance Ministry spokesman Jakub Haas, a total of 1.25 billion Kč ($75.5 million) will be used to build and improve local infrastructure in 22 municipalities close to the Brdy military base where the radar base will be located.
Haas said 1.38 million Kč had already been allotted to four area towns, with other amounts prepped for immediate release once other municipalities had submitted their project proposals and invoices.
So far, the town of Rožmitál pod Třemšínem had received the largest grant — a total of 843,000 Kč — to expand and renovate their sewer system. Villages and towns up to 10 kilometers away from the planned radar base are eligible to apply for the subsidies, Haas said.
However, civic associations are vowing to move ahead with planned protests, calling the subsidies “government bribery” and stressing that most local residents oppose the project regardless of the money.
“Of course, everyone will try to get the government money because it’s vital for the region,” said Jan Májíček, spokesman for the No Bases Initiative. “But it’s absolutely clear to us that the government is simply trying to corrupt the local authorities.”
Májíček said his group was co-organizing a series of anti-radar protests and discussions with the League of Mayors Against the Radar, which counts Josef Řihák, the mayor of Příbram, central Bohemia, and Jan Neoral, mayor of Trokavec, west Bohemia, among its members. He added the events will be timed to coincide with the fall Senate election as part of an effort to encourage citizens to vote against pro-radar candidates.  
“The Velvet Revolution was about the establishment of democracy,” Májíček said, adding that a large-scale protest is being prepped for Nov. 17, the Day of Students’ Struggle for Freedom and Democracy. “To go ahead with the plans for the radar base when the majority of Czech citizens are against it is anti-democratic.”
 

Curtis M. Wong can be reached at cwong@praguepost.com


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