Czech mayors form association against radar base

September 3, 2007

During the CND Conference "US Missile Defence: towards a new cold war?" Mr. Jan Neoral, the Czech Mayor of Trokavec, announced the creation of a new mayoral association opposing the deployment of the US NMD radar in the Czech Republic.  On Saturday September 1st already 85 Czech mayors  had joined the new association. Mr. Jan Neoral was the first Czech mayor who organised a referendum in the Czech Republic concerning NMD. A large majority of Czech citizens are opposed to the NMD system.

Mr. Jan Neoral was one of the first Czech Mayors to join with the Mayors for Peace last month. He will encourage the other Czech mayors of the new association to register their membership for Mayors for Peace. This new initiative demonstrates how local authorities can effectively make a difference in decision-making on international issues.

Speech by Mayor Neoral at end of this story

Rozmital pod Tremsinem, Central Bohemia, Aug 24 (CTK) - Czech mayors from surroundings of the Brdy military grounds today formed a free association of towns and villages against the planned construction of the U.S. radar base in the Czech Republic, the mayors told CTK.

The radar base may be built near Misov, west Bohemia, some 90 km southwest of Prague, on the Brdy military training grounds. The mayors' association is to negotiate with the government. Its constituent document was signed by 31 of 34 municipal representatives present, 27 of whom were from central Bohemia. Only the mayors of Strasice, Hradek and Spalene Porici, all west Bohemia, refused to join the association.

"We want to formulate our demands at the working meeting in Pribram next week and submit them to a government meeting in Spalene Porici on September 5," said Josef Rihak (opposition Social Democrats, CSSD), Mayor of Pribram, central Bohemia, who has become the association's coordinator. Rihak, along with some other mayors, admitted that Wednesday's meeting with government coordinator for defence policy Tomas Klvana had divided the mayors from the Brdy locality. Nine of the 16 invited mayors took part in the meeting with Klvana in Spalene Porici. They all agreed that the presented study assessing the radar's health risks had turned the originally emotional negotiations into rational ones.

The mayors initiating today's meeting do not agree with the results of the Defence Ministry's study saying that the radar's impact is harmless, and they at the same time reject a possible state compensation for the radar base. "We will not invite only 16 municipalities to our discussions with experts and politicians like Mr Klvana did on Wednesday, but all over 45 in the military grounds' surroundings," Rihak said. Strasice deputy mayor Frantisek Nerad, who refused to join the association, reiterated that talks with Klvana and other politicians are important for the surrounding municipalities as they can help them gain financial compensation for having been limited by the nearby military grounds for more than 80 years.

Trokavec mayor Jan Neoral (independent) and Jince Mayor Josef Hala (Communists, KSCM), on the contrary, stressed that Mr Klvana is no partner for them as he is "a lobbyist." They said they would like to have discussions only with ministers, the government and experts.

Neoral noted he had recently addressed 737 mayors from the whole of the Czech Republic and that 64 had offered them cooperation. "I have also prepared a letter to U.S. senators and to the Green parties in Europe," Neoral said, adding that the mayor of Hiroshima, Japan, also called on municipalities to cooperate in the fight against the radar base.

The USA plans to station elements of its missile defence shield in Central Europe - a radar system in the Czech Republic and interceptor missiles in Poland. The U.S.-Czech negotiations on the base are to continue until the end of the year. U.S. representatives want to hear the final position of the Czech government at the beginning of 2008. The centre-right government of Mirek Topolanek (Civic Democrats, ODS) supports the idea of the base, while the opposition Social Democrats demand that a referendum be held on it. A majority of Czech inhabitants are against the base, according to polls.

Source: CTK - Czech News Agency

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Speech by Mayor Jan Neoral
US Missile Defence: towards a new cold war?

London, September 1st 2007
CND Conference

Dear ladies and gentlemen, let me thank you for this possibility to speak to you. I deeply appreciate being able to inform you about our fight.

The Czech government want to build a US radar in our country. Nearly three quarters of the nation stand against.

Since January four governmental politicians - Prime Minister,Vise-prime Minister, Minister of defence and Minister of foreign affairs have been lying to us that the radar's surroundings is going to be an "oasis of safety".

Even several days after the US request of placing the radar the Prime Minister claimed to the nation that "this device does not radiate anything ..", at the time when even professionals knew nothing about the radar.

This is a nonsense - because a radar is a device functioning on the principle of radiating electromagnetic energy. I have studied five years of electrical power engineering of frequency, and I know how dangerous a radar of this frequency and power [??] is.

Our attitude is not at all a sign of antiamericanism or communist thinking. Also scientists, right-wing politicians, former US president Clinton, world celebrities are protesting, professionals are warning.

Our village has 87 inhabitants. We carried out local referendum on 17th March.

Legally we are unable to prevent from radar construction; through this referendum, however, we sent a strong moral signal to our government that we live here, that we do not want any radar here, that it is dangerous for Czech citizens. Another villages followed us with their referendums, by now there have been about 20 of them.

Anyway, the government has not considered our voices, they have treated us arrogantly and said the radar would be here because the government wishes so. It is not our right to intermeddle.

Totally catastrophic communication level of the government towards the public, amateurism and lies about the radar have brought the deepest fears.

The government and politicians have entirely stopped radar communication with the citizens even though this is their basic duty.

Instead of giving credible information to the citizens they are paying Mr Klvaňa, the director of the tobacco firm British American Tobacco, to lob for the radar. They have positioned him between themselves and the citizens.

He has been persuading the Mayors of villages that in case they agree they can be given grants for road systems, water pipelines, a sewage disposal plant. We know there is no money, and the government will not keep such a promise anyway. Besides, we will not exchange safety and health of people for money.

A commission formed from soldiers only has been introduced by the government as a health commission. They shall prove that the radar is not dangerous. It is the same as if the government sent a bee poison producer to a bee keepers' meeting.

Foreign radar construction has been pursued by those politicians who were not given a mandate by their voters in elections. Politicians did not include the radar into their election program at all. They despise opinions of our nation majority. They forget that their seats are just borrowed from voters.

Prime Minister, you and your three war-eager and militant ministers, you are sitting in these seats for the last time, you bet! Your voters will not forget how you despise them today!

The necessity of radar construction is being explained by arguments whose credibility is probably not trusted even by those who propagate them. Once it is a North Korean threat, then a threat from Iran.

Similar threats, if they existed, cannot be faced through militarisation of our planet and close space. The only threat which in connection with the radar clearly exists is a threat of new arms race, which has - thanks to this action - unfortunately already started.

Russia has backed out of the non-nuclear weapons contract, re-engaged long distance bombers flights, threatened by aiming their missiles on the radar and the Czech Republic.

Politicians lie to us. On the basis of published video-recordings from the discussion with Borovna citizens has been proved that the Prime Minister himself was lying even during his interpellations in parliament. In democratic countries, Germany, Sweden, such a Prime Minister would not be a prime minister any more. He is tolerated by us, though. It is evident then how bad it is with democracy of our right-wing government.

Last week we founded "Mayors League" association against the radar. Towns have been joining villages in united progress. After a long time this is not only the first sign of civil society - but also people's bravery. In the West Europe you might be used to this, however, it has not been that usual at us so far.

Claims of the government and Generals that citizens are not competent and informed enough to decide on the radar in a national referendum is silly. Today, citizens have more information than the government about the radar's danger because they are interested in having them.

Army experts might be experts on army affairs, however, they stay just "green brains" for social questions, historic effects and keeping peace. They do not conclude that in case of any conflict provoked by the USA in the future the radar will go the first. And the whole Czech Republic as well.

And the government? We are suspicious that they follow odd goals, evidently just for their own political benefits - and their voters are not interesting any more.

At a discussion one lady mentioned this comparison: When new isolation was being tested on the space shuttle Columbia, the US crew was told that the shuttle's take-off and landing would be perfectly safe. Yet the shuttle burnt with all those on board. You are telling us that the radar will be totally safe. What will happen if this is not true and there are harmful effects?

Prime Minister Topolánek answered: People die everywhere. Some in wars, others in car crashes, some just die. Our Prime Minister is a cynic.

Americans have an unnecessary radar which they want to place to us. It is a US attempt to enforce the Czech Republic with a base which they could enlarge in the future. Even today it is clear that there should be two radars here, surrounded by missile Patriots troops to defend the radar; as the US ambassador in Brussels said the government speaks about US interceptors.

There is a threat of European countries disunion. It will bring new armament, escalation of tension between world powers. Terrorist always concentrate close to their target. End of peace and safety in Europe, perhaps in the world.

This is the view of people in Trokavec, villages close to forests of Brdy and majority of Czech people. To locate such a freak into a densely inhabited residential area can be done just by fools or criminals. And this is what we are going to fight against. And the criminals might be judged once.

We can not allow that American, Czech and Polish governments would start a new round of cold war. For doubtful American goals and Czech and Polish political stupidity and governmental arrogance.

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