News

The Czech presidency of the European Union has condemned the brutal murder of Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga, the editor-in-chief of The Sunday Leader newspaper, who was shot dead by an assailant in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Thursday. Mr Wickramatunga had regularly criticised government policy, the Czech news service ČTK reported. In its statement, the Czech EU presidency expressed regret over the loss of the journalist, who ranked among the most open critics of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. and expressed concern over recent acts of violence which it said went “against the basic principles of democracy”.

Czech President Václav Klaus received US ambassador Richard Graber at Lány Chateau on Friday in connection with the end of his diplomatic mission in the Czech Republic. Mr Graber, who has been the US ambassador to Prague since October 2006, said on Friday he considered the lifting of US visa requirements for Czechs as the biggest achievement during his posting. A day earlier, he expressed the conviction that another project, the deployment of a US missile radar base on Czech soil, would be completed, as well as the hope that Czech lawmakers would approve the extension of Czech military units in Afghanistan. Mr Graber steps down as US ambassador on January 20.

The Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek has publicly apologized to his Social Democrat opposition counterpart Jiří Paroubek for disparaging comments made by Interior Minister Ivan Langer. The comments relate to a recent failure of the government to extend the military missions of Czech forces overseas, something that resulted because the Social Democrat opposition failed to vote for the measure. Mr Langer then called the Social Democrat leader a “murderer” for allowing what many viewed as the crucial missions of Czech forces in Afghanistan and Iraq to be jeopardized. Later, Mr Paroubek made any further discussions on the toleration of the current coalition government conditional on an apology from the PM. Mr Paroubek has accepted the apology and stated that it would no doubt contribute to the political discourse in the country. Czech forces overseas are currently functioning under a provisional extension order, with a new mandate to be negotiated by the government and opposition next week.

The Czech prime minister has set up a National Economic Council to help fight the effects of the global economic crisis, it has been announced. The council is made up of a number of economic specialists, among them the former ministers Vladimír Dlouhý, Martin Jahn and Jiří Rusnok. The council members have extensive experience in government and also the private sector. The council is viewed as being a non-partisan, advisory entity with no formal powers.