“D – Day” Demonstration : 8th July- Vaclavske Namesti – Wenceslas Square
July has arrived in Prague, and as well within just a few days, the U.S. Secretary Of State, Condoleeza Rice is expected to attend discussions with the intentions of signing the treaties involved in the installation of a U.S. Missile Defense Radar Base in the Czech Republic.

The length and exact term of “Condi’s” visit has been reported to be on the morning of July the 8th and stay between the 10th.

If our government here in the Czech Republic thinks that it’s citizens will remain passive, quiet and indifferent “neteční” during it’s ignorant and defiant pursuit of a rapid signing of the Missile Defense & Radar Agreement, truly they have made an unprecedented mistake.

“Pokud si naše vláda myslí, že občané zůstanou neteční k její úporné snaze o urychlené podepsání smlouvy o radaru, tak se plete.”

“D – DAY” Demonstration

“D-Day” = The Day Of Condoleeza Rice’s Arrival In Prague.
Individuals who are against the placement of the U.S. Radar Base on Czech Soil, Voice It ! – Say It ! – THE RADAR WILL NOT BE HERE !!

The people have remained against the agreement for two years without change, and the government has also not changed in it’s stance of ignorance of the people, citizens and the majority “Czech Vote”. We can voice our final words once more to Parliament via elected and responsible spokespeople for the “No To Bases” Iniciative, “Ne Zakladnam”.

We will demonstrate in protest of “Condi” and the Radar, On Tuesday, 8th of July, in Wenceslas Square, from 18:00 (6pm).

The US Embassy in Prague organized an official celebration of this event on Wednesday 2.7.

At the same time, the No to Bases Initiative staged a happening entitled “We Too Want Independence”. As the spokesperson of the Initiative Jan Májíček said:

“The Americans have fought out their independence and sovereignty of decision-making about own territory and we demand that as well. Like the Americans we do not want that the affairs of our country be decided on the other side of Atlantic”.

“We would like to remind that nearly a two-thirds of Czech citizens wish referendum in which they could decide on their own whether we allow another country to build a strategic military installation on our soil,”

Added Ivona Novomestská,

Mluvci: Iniciativa Ne Zakladnam

The happening was held on Wednesday 2.7. at 11:00 in front of the residence of the US Ambassador at the address Zikmunda Wintra 3, Prague 6. 

Spokespersons: 

Ivona Novomestská, tel. 777 232 883, email: ivona.n@email.cz  
Ing. Jan Tamáš, Ph.D., tel. 776 785 839, email: jan.tamas@humanisti.cz

Trokavec, West Bohemia, July 3 (CTK) – Local inhabitants still oppose the project of a U.S. radar base that is to be built on Czech soil in the Brdy locality ahead of the planned signing of the main radar treaty by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice next week. Neither a government information campaign, nor promised subsidies and visits by top politicians, the U.S. ambassador and experts have persuaded the locals to change their mind. They still express fears of health risks connected with the radar, a decrease in their real estate prices and primarily increased security risks.

“The atmosphere in our village as well as all around remains the same, we do not want the radar. We have no reason to change our mind,” said Trokavec Mayor Jan Neoral, one of the sharpest opponents of the radar base.

The Central European elements are to protect the United States and a large part of the European continent against missiles that states like Iran might launch. The Czech government has completed its talks with the United States on the main radar treaty, while the negotiations on the complementary SOFA treaty, dealing with U.S. soldiers’ status on Czech territory still continue.

Rice will arrive in the Czech Republic on July 8 to sign the main treaty, along with Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg. The radar treaties must be ratified by Czech parliament and signed by President Vaclav Klaus to take effect.

The local inhabitants in Brdy criticise the government campaign to promote the radar.

“It was pointless, only a lot of money was wasted on it,” a Misov inhabitant said.

The whole pro-radar campaign has allegedly cost over 15 million crowns. People have also complained about what they call the “arrogant” behaviour of some government politicians, including Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek (Civic Democrats, ODS).

Some radar opponents also believe that the United States has not made the final decision on the radar yet.

“The U.S. Congress, too, has started debating the missile defence shield as something problematic, maybe useless and inefficient, this fills us with great hopes,” Neoral said.
He also pointed to the sceptical approach to the defence shield in the team of U.S. Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama. Most inhabitants of the Brdy municipalities have opposed the project since January 2007 when the United States asked for placing the radar base in the Brdy military district.

Inhabitants of Trokavec were the first to reject the radar in a local plebiscite held on March 17, 2007. Out of the 72 voters who participated in the referendum, 71 were against it. Referenda and local polls concerning the radar base have taken place in a number of towns and villages in central and west Bohemia, bordering on the Brdy military grounds, and a crushing majority of inhabitants have always expressed disagreement with the radar base.

A year ago, Misov was officially selected by the Defence Ministry for the final measurements in connection with the radar. Since then the so far calm village has seen stormy protests, emotional debates and visits by top politicians. The senior opposition Communists (KSCM) have staged two anti-radar demonstrations in Misov, but not many locals attended it though they disagreed with the radar.

Richard Graber, U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic, have also participated in informal debates on the radar base in Misov.

A year ago, a little stony hill in Brdy, spot height 718, was for the first time mentioned as the exact location for the radar base. In protest against it, Czech Greenpeace activists occupied the spot height for a couple of weeks from the end of April till June 9 when the military evicted them from the area and then surrounded the spot-height with barbed-wire barriers.

Local mayors in Brdy have also complained about the poor state of their municipalities’ infrastructure. In spite of it, they did not welcome the government’s promise of high subsidies for the region in connection with the radar base. Neoral and other mayors reiterated that they would not sell their opinions for money.

A total of 1.25 billion crowns are to be earmarked for 22 Brdy municipalities partially from the state budget and from Czech and European programmes. Not only Brdy inhabitants oppose the U.S. radar base, but some two thirds of Czechs are against the project, according to the latest polls.

The cooperation agreement is to provide new opportunities, including top technology projects, to Czech researchers and companies.

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said earlier this year that he considers this agreement far more important than technical issues related to the radar. The United States has such an agreement only with a few countries such as Australia, Britain and Japan.

The Czech government has completed its talks with the United States on the main radar treaty, while the negotiations on the complementary SOFA treaty, dealing with U.S. soldiers’ status on Czech territory still continue.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
is to arrive in Prague to sign the treaty on the radar base on July 8.
We will demonstrate in protest of “Condi” and the Radar, On Tuesday, 8th of July, in Wenceslas Square, from 18:00 (6pm).

A senior Bush administration official says the two sides have finalized the text of a draft accord, under which Poland will join the Czech Republic in hosting a regional U.S. defense system aimed against an anticipated long-range missile threat from Iran.

No terms of the tentative deal were disclosed though Poland had been seeking, in return for accepting the U.S. system, a multi-billion dollar upgrade of its air defense capabilities.

The senior official said the deal was hammered out late Tuesday after two days of closed door Washington meetings this week between State Department officials and officials of the Polish defense and foreign ministries.

The U.S. plan calls for the stationing of ten interceptor missiles in Poland and an associated advanced radar system in the Czech Republic. A tentative agreement with the Prague government was reached several weeks ago.

The planned system has been strongly opposed by Moscow, which contends, despite U.S. denials, that the anti-missile system would undercut its strategic nuclear deterrent.

In a talk with reporters Wednesday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Dan Fried said the United States has tried to address Poland’s concerns about the Russian position and other key issues:

“The Poles have urged us to reach out to Russia with a serious offer on missile defense, and as you know, we have done so,” he said. “The Poles, and the Czechs as well, have urged us to work more with NATO, and if possible get NATO’s support for missile defense. We’ve done so successfully, at the NATO summit last April. And the Poles have also asked us to address Polish modernization. And as you know we have agreed to that as well.”

Fried, a key participant in the missile dialogue, hailed Poland as a magnificent ally of the United States, noting its role in the U.S.-led military coalitions in both Iraq and in Afghanistan, where Poland has recently increased its troop and aircraft contribution.

The senior official who spoke here said the next step in the process is up to the Polish leadership, and did not offer a timeframe for when the agreement would get final approval.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to discuss the missile defense issue, among others, on a European trip next week.

Sokolnice, South Moravia
As all eyes are fixed on the anticipated June signing of a Czech-U.S. treaty to build a radar base at the Brdy Military Base 90 kilometers (37 miles) southwest of Prague, controversy over a lesser-known radar base is playing out on the other side of the country. The new base, built by the Defense Ministry and to be under NATO control, is now being completed in Slavkov, south Moravia, the site of the Battle of Austerlitz of the Napoleonic Wars. Construction began in 2005, and the base is scheduled to begin trial operations June 1. More than 20 surrounding towns and villages as well as conservation and historic groups have battled the radar since construction began, but, at this point, locals have mostly given in to the inevitable. “We have been excluded from judicial proceedings against the radar. Any further efforts on our part would be wasted,” said Jiří Životský, mayor of Sokolnice, about 2 kilometers from the base, adding that a 2004 court case against the installation had been dismissed.

Prime Location

The new three-dimensional radar was built on the site of an old Soviet radar station. “The old technology was no longer able to satisfy the needs of a modern army, so a new radar had to be built to fulfill our commitments toward allies in NATO,” said Jan Pejšek (below), spokesman for the Defense Ministry. While the ministry contends that no better site could be found, local radar opponents disagree. “At first, they told us that they never considered other possibilities, only later did they say that no other suitable spot was found,” said Životský.
While local fears about health and environmental impacts have been dispelled by the ministry, concerns about preserving the area’s historic value are more difficult to dismiss.

The countryside surrounding the base is considered a heritage site because of the Battle of the Three Emperors in 1805, in which some 40,000 soldiers lost their lives. Their bodies are buried in mass graves throughout the battlefield.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a Mound of Peace was built, sponsored mainly by the Russian government, to serve as a reminder of achieved unity between formerly hostile nations. In 1992, the Czech government decided the whole area would become a heritage site dedicated to peace.
“Because of the protected status, citizens living in the area need to fulfill a long list of requirements — including a skyline impact study — if they want to build anything,” said Životský. “To many, the radar seems a mockery since the Army built it despite disapproval from the relevant institutions.”
The Defense Ministry argues that the radar cannot be seen from the battlefield memorial. “It is only 25 meters [82 feet] tall, and it’s 850 meters away from the mound,” Pejšek pointed out. “In addition, the two sites are separated by a forest, so there is no direct line of sight.”

But that is just about the only place from which the radar cannot be seen, according to locals. Otherwise it cannot be overlooked. “It is true the Soviets had a radar here too, but, during communism, we could do nothing about it,” said Životský. “We hoped democracy would give us a say, but it’s just as bad as the old times. We were excluded from court proceedings and our objections were invalidated.”
Miroslav Jandora, an organizer of annual Napoleonic battle re-enactments in the area, went even further. “They have no respect for the dead,” he said. “The radar is built on stolen soil over the bodies of thousands of dead soldiers. The area serves as a memorial to peace and to build a military installation on the spot is mockery.”
Jandora said that the ground was confiscated or forcibly bought below market value during communism, and that owners never received compensation as the land was obtained in the interest of national safety. “The Army gets a whole bunch of exemptions if it declares something to be a key security issue. However, it does not have to prove its claims,” said Jandora, who added that a recent project to build wind turbines in the area had been scrapped due to concerns over changing the landscape. “I don’t understand why the laws are not the same for everyone.”

Share & Share Alike

Two municipalities continue to opposed the radar and a regional court may yet decide in their favor। Although most other municipalities have given up the fight, one piece of news got everyone on their feet again. When locals learned that the government is willing to pay 1.5 billion Kč in compensation to villages around the planned U.S. radar at Brdy, they also wanted their share. “The government is not playing fair with us. People here feel betrayed because we never got a dime,” said Životský. Area mayors have united once again, this time with their counterparts near Nepolisy, where another NATO radar base has been in use since 2007 and where surrounding municipalities saw no compensation either. “Ideally some politically neutral solution can be found,” Životský said. “The government could sponsor infrastructure, education, environment or some other publicly beneficial and much-needed investment in the area.”

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The comments follow talks in Washington with Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas. The Pentagon reported that the Lithuanian leader sounded willing to consider a proposal.

Nevertheless, Gates stressed that Poland remained the preferred site for the U.S. to place its 10 missile interceptors. The negotiations with Warsaw have stalled in a dispute over the extent of the U.S. assistance to upgrade the Polish army.

The missile defence system also includes plans for a tracking radar to be built in the Czech Republic.

Russia strongly objects to the bases,
arguing their proximity to its border threatens its security.

Holmes said Moscow does not mind anti-missile defence technologies much but it seeks power influence and wants to decide on the missile shield project.

The decision on the planned bases is a decision of the allies, said Holmes, who was U.S. assistant secretary of state for the U.N. and international organisations in 2002-2005.

He said he believes Russia should be omitted [from the decision-making process].

Holmes today lectured in Prague on security challenges for the USA in the 21st century.

He told CTK that in his opinion if all treaties on the missile shield are signed, the signature will be binding on George W.Bush’s successor as U.S. president, irrespective of whether he will be a Democrat or a Republican.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to arrive in Prague next Tuesday to sign the Czech-U.S. treaty on the radar project.

To take effect, the treaty also requires approval from the Czech parliament.

Holmes said the apprehensions of attacks from countries such as Iran and North Korea, which are behind Washington’s missile defence efforts, are justified.

Opponents of the planned U.S. radar base in the Czech Republic are planning a protest rally at Prague’s Wenceslas Square and a march when U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice comes to sign the treaty on the radar base next week.

Rice will most probably spend the night in one of the luxurious Prague hotels, maybe Hilton, where U.S. President George Bush stayed last year, or Mandarin Oriental and Four Seasons.

Tight safety precautions will accompany Rice’s visit.

The Czechs and the USA have completed negotiations on the main “radar treaty” and negotiations on the complementing SOFA treaty, dealing with U.S. soldiers’ status on Czech soil, are reportedly close to completion.

Rice is expected to arrive at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday. She and her Czech counterpart Karel Schwarzenberg are then expected to sign the treaty. Rice is also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek and to have a dinner at the U.S. embassy.

On Wednesday morning, Rice will fly to Poland.

In Warsaw, Rice may announce the conditions of the base on Polish soil.

Rice will be for the first time in the Czech Republic in her capacity of minister.

The initial version of the European Mid-course Radar, or EMR, “possesses such limited range that it won’t play any useful role in the operation of European missile defense,” said George Lewis of Cornell University and Theodore Postol of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Writing in the May/June Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, they asserted the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency, or MDA, has “oversold” the radar and the rest of the planned shield, possibly to commit the United States to a course that will be hard to reverse.

Richard Lehner, a spokesman for the agency, dismissed their criticism as unfounded.

“The radar proposed for placement in the Czech Republic has more than enough power for its role and has supported missile defense tests in the Pacific for nearly a decade over greater distances than will be required in Europe,” he said in an e-mailed response.

Raytheon said Tuesday it had been awarded a contract with a potential value of $400 million to start planning to shift an existing X-band tracking radar, that would become the EMR, to the Czech Republic from the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific.

The EMR would help guide 10 ground-based missiles the United States hopes to deploy in neighboring Poland and expand U.S. defenses against “limited Iranian long-range threats,”

U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, director of missile defense, told a congressional hearing last week. It would be upgraded with improved data processing capability, communications gear and software, Lehner said. EMR is due to be deployed at a site southwest of Prague by 2013.

Postol, in a follow-up interview, said the MDA apparently was assuming a warhead’s radar cross-section would be as big as one square meter, making it easy for the EMR to detect it at the expected range of an Iranian attack scenario. But, he said, over the large majority of viewing angles, the cone-shaped warhead’s radar cross section would be minuscule, perhaps only one one-hundredth of a square meter or less, because of the way signals would be reflected away from the illuminating radar.

“It’s hands-down unambiguous,” Postol, who once served as scientific advisor to the chief of U.S. naval operations, said by telephone. “No ambiguity whatsoever that this radar will not perform as advertised.”

“Either the whole leadership of the Missile Defense Agency should be fired because they’re technically incompetent or they should be fired because they’re lying to the Congress and the American people,” he added.

Raytheon referred a request for comment to MDA.

Earlier this week, Boeing Co, which heads an industry team that would put the 10 interceptor missiles in silos in Poland, derided Postol for a guest column he published April 15 in the Boston Globe newspaper.

“While Postol’s op-ed might fit nicely in a science fiction novel, it doesn’t fit reality,” Scott Fancher, Boeing’s chief executive for missile defense, said in a letter to the editor.

Raytheon said Tuesday that it planned to maximize Czech industry participation in the development of the EMR site. The United States has proposed a range of measures to allay Russian objections to the proposed European sites. (Reporting by Jim Wolf; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)