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11/20/2014
The Czech prime minister, Bohuslav Sobotka, has told a deputy foreign minister, Petr Drulák, to respect the country’s foreign policy in the field of human rights. Mr. Drulák has described the policies advocated by Václav Havel, which put a relatively strong emphasis on human rights, as mistaken and harmful to Czech interests. Mr. Sobotka has endorsed Mr. Havel’s views on a four-day trip to the United States linked to events celebrating the late president’s legacy. In recent times the Czech Republic has made marked efforts to improve relations with China, which has been criticised for its human rights record.
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11/20/2014
A bust of the late Václav Havel has been unveiled at the US Congress in Washington. Wednesday’s ceremony was the culmination of a series of events held under the banner Celebration of Freedom marking the 25th anniversary of Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution, in which Mr. Havel led the country to democracy after over four decades of communist rule. The dissident turned president is only the fourth European to be honoured in this way. Among those who spoke at the unveiling ceremony were John Boehner, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and Bohuslav Sobotka, the Czech prime minister.
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11/19/2014
ANO would come first in general elections with 32 percent of the vote, suggests a poll conducted this month by the STEM agency. The Social Democrats, who are the largest party in a coalition government that also features ANO, would finish second on 20 percent, the survey indicates. The Communist Party would place third, with 13.8 percent of the vote, according to the poll. The Civic Democrats would get 7.1 percent backing, just ahead of TOP 09 (6.9 percent), another right-wing party that has eclipsed them in recent times.
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11/19/2014
A Prague Court said on Wednesday that it would not consider whether to postpone the jail term of Roman Janoušek on health grounds as he had already entered prison. The court had been expected to hear a petition from the influential businessman, who has reportedly had a brain operation and requires more surgery. However, it said he could only appeal the verdict itself. Mr. Janoušek on Tuesday began serving a four and a half year term over a hit and run incident in 2012. Wiretaps published in the Czech media created the impression that he had held considerable influence over politicians in Prague.
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11/19/2014
President Miloš Zeman says demonstrations against him on Monday’s anniversary of the Velvet Revolution were a disgrace to the Czech Republic. Thousands held up red cards indicating he should quit at one meeting while at another eggs were thrown at Mr. Zeman, who was flanked by other presidents from the region. Speaking on Wednesday, Mr. Zeman said the protests were a continuation of last year’s presidential campaign. This would seem to suggest that he blamed Monday’s events on people around Karel Schwarzenberg, whom he defeated in a two-candidate run-off.
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11/19/2014
Milan Štěch has been re-elected chairman of the Senate at its first session since elections last month in which a third of its seats were up for grabs. The former trade union leader was the only candidate for the post. His party the Social Democrats also continue to hold two deputy chairmanships in the upper house. Mr. Štěch has been a member of the Senate since it was established in 1996.
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11/19/2014
An envelope containing poison was received by the Ministry of the Interior on Tuesday. Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Minister Milan Chovanec said that the envelope had been sent from a country in Southern Europe. Initial tests suggest the substance may have been cyanide-based, the minister said. In September suspicious letters containing a white substance were delivered to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Office of the Government and Prague Castle. President Miloš Zeman said at the time that the missives had been signed in the name of Islamic State and were in response to Czech support for Iraqi Kurds.
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11/19/2014
Speaking to Czech Army generals on Wednesday, President Miloš Zeman restated his belief that Czech soldiers should be sent to the Golan Heights to support Israel, which he referred to as a traditional ally of the Czech Republic. Mr. Zeman told the army chiefs the country should fight the “greatest enemy” of the contemporary era, Islamists. The head of state also criticised the generals, saying they were “preparing for a past war”. He expressed support for the purchase of state of the art military equipment such as drones and backed an increase in the Czech Army’s budget.
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11/19/2014
Czech President Miloš Zeman says Europe, the US, Russia and China should join forces to combat Islamic terrorism. Speaking in an interview in Wednesday’s edition of the German daily Bild, Mr. Zeman said Islamic terrorism was a bigger problem than the Ukraine crisis. He said he expected to see a resolution of the dispute between Ukraine and Russia as in the long term Moscow could not go without Western money and technology. The Czech head of state said terrorism would likely continue for decades and that another 9/11 could occur if the powers referred to did not work together.
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11/19/2014
Czech writer Jan Němec was given the EU Prize for Literature for 2014 at a ceremony in Brussels on Tuesday night. The 33-year-old Němec was awarded for his novel Historie světla or A History of Light, based on the life of the famous Czech photographer František Drtikol. The prize, accompanied by 5,000 Euros, is dedicated to new and emerging European authors. Jan Němec is the second Czech writer to receive the prize after Tomáš Zmeškal, who was awarded the EU Prize for Literature in 2011.
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