Prague - The Czech parliament's upper house Thursday began
debating treaties that allow the United States to place its missile
defence base in the former Soviet satellite.
The Senate is expected to approve the pacts as the three-party
governing coalition of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has a majority
of 45 in the 81-seat house.
The missile shield treaties face a hurdle in parliament's
closely-divided lower house where Topolanek lacks a clear majority
for the US project.
In a bid to win over the plan's opponents, the premier said
earlier he would prefer the final lower house vote to take place
after US president-elect Barack Obama takes office on January 20.
Speaking before the Senate, Topolanek said his government's
support for the project, which is unpopular with the public, was a
display of statesmanlike providence.
'I have to say I do not know a more stupid sentence from the
security perspective than this one: 'Nobody is threatening us, so why
build defences?'' he said.
Washington would like to erect a tracking radar for a European arm
of its missile shield in a military zone south-west of Prague,
accompanied by 10 interceptor missiles in Poland.
Topolanek reiterated that he sees the project as a safeguard
against Russia, which has strongly opposed the US plans in the former
Eastern Bloc countries, now members of the European Union and the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
'It is entirely unacceptable for me to become the premier of the
government that will obediently stand to attention and again open the
door to Russian imperialism,' he said.
Obama's unclear stance on the project showed in the ratification
debate in Prague.
Senator Jiri Dienstbier, a former foreign minister elected to the
chamber on the opposition Social Democratic ballot in October, urged
his colleagues to delay the vote for one year.
'There is no reason for the Senate to anticipate the course of
events in such an uncertain issue. ... Let's not be ridiculous,' he
said.
In an effort to assure the chamber that the new US leader will not
dump the project, Topolanek called Obama's decision to keep Defence
Secretary Robert Gates in office 'an example of continuity.'
Obama has so far only said that he would support the project if it
works.
The outgoing Bush administration said the European bases are to
protect the continent from potential long-range missiles from
countries such as Iran.
But Russia has called the shield a danger to its own security and
has repeatedly threatened to aim missiles at the central European
bases.
It remains unclear whether the upper house will vote on the
project on Thursday.
USA
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