International protest against US radar base to be held later this month

Opponents of a proposed US radar base in the Czech Republic have announced that they will be holding an international demonstration against the construction of the facility in the Brdy region, the projected location of the base. A spokeswoman for the "No to Bases" movement said that the protest will take place on 20 October and that delegations from Great Britain, Portugal, Hungary, Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, the United States and Sweden would be attending the event. Invitees include the mayor of Hiroshima Tadatoshi Akiba and the mayor of London Ken Livingstone.

The proposed US radar base in the central Bohemian Brdy region is intended as part of a American missile defence system aimed at countering possible attacks from so-called rogue states such as Iran. Polls show that a majority of Czechs are against the proposal even though it has the tentative support of the centre-right government. A final decision on the base is expected early next year.