Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Russia

Czech Republic: Locals Object To Proposed Radar Base

A demonstration against the proposed missile shield in Prague on May 26 (RFE/RL)

PRAGUE, June 6, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- On his visit to Prague this week, U.S. President George W. Bush sought to allay Czech concerns about the proposed radar base that the United States hopes to build in the country. But the Czech public remains unconvinced.

TEXT SIZE - +

June 06, 2007

Although the United States has won preliminary support from the Czech government, some three-fifths of Czech residents oppose hosting a U.S. base as part of a planned antimissile defense system.

Many opponents -- and even some supporters -- are calling for a national referendum to put the issue to the public.

In the Brdy hills, south of the Czech capital, several of the small towns located closest to the proposed radar site are leading the charge with local referendums of their own. Five towns have already voted overwhelmingly against hosting a U.S. installation in their region, and others are scheduled to follow with further non-binding referendums.

But locals say they're aware a "no" vote in the referendums is unlikely to make any difference. They say they just want to register -- however weakly -- on the Czech political radar.

FURTHER READING
Rogue Threat A U.S. official discusses the security threats that Washington feels justify a missile-defense program. more	Russia Reacts Moscow has been uncompromisingly hostile to the U.S. missile-defense proposal. more

Missile Defense: Not In My Backyard?

AN RFE/RL VIDEO PRESENTATION: The Czech Republic responds to the U.S. missile-defense proposal.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin covers his face during a conference of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs in Moscow on February 9.

Administrative (Resource) Breakdown

Administrative resources make up the glue that holds authoritarian structures like Putin's power vertical together. And there have been plenty of signs recently that this glue is weakening. More

Syrians in the northwestern town of Kfar Nubul pose with a cartoon depicting Russia

Angry Over Syria, Arab World Threatens Russian Boycott

Groups in a number of Arab states, angry over the Russian-Chinese veto of a UN resolution aimed at stopping the violence in Syria, have called for a one-day boycott of Russian and Chinese goods on February 12. More

Alla Dzhioyeva attends a protest by her supporters in Tskhinvali on January 28.

South Ossetian Opposition Leader Hospitalized After Raid

Alla Dzhioyeva, the opposition candidate whose victory in a runoff ballot in November for de facto president of Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia was swiftly annulled by the republic's Supreme Court, was taken to a hospital after a raid by some 200 masked security personnel on her headquarters in Tskhinvali. More