News

The Polish Catholic conservative party, the League of Polish Families (LPR), has said it fully supports the Czech Republic's stand on the Benes decrees, which sanctioned the expulsion and confiscation of property of millions of ethnic Germans from Czechoslovakia in the years following WWII. According to LPR Chairman Roman Giertych, the party will propose to pass a resolution expressing solidarity to the Czech Republic's decision not to abolish the decrees at the next session of the Sejm, the Polish parliament. The party's initiative follows calls from Bavarian Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber for financial compensation for some Sudeten Germans expelled from Czechoslovakia after World War II.

President Vaclav Klaus has released a statement saying he is disturbed by attempts both at home and abroad to reopen what he calls "questions of the past", and will hold special talks with the prime minister and the leaders of the two houses of parliament. Mr Klaus's spokesman said the meeting would be called to examine problems in Czech-German relations and the return of confiscated property, but refused to confirm whether the four would discuss the issue of compensation to Sudeten Germans expelled from Czechoslovakia after the war. Mr Klaus made the comments after Bavarian Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber called for compensation for German expellees. Around 2.5 million ethnic Germans - known as Sudeten Germans - were expelled from Czechoslovakia after 1945 in decrees signed by President Eduard Benes.

Mr Spidla and his Austrian counterpart Wolfgang Schuessel also said they were concerned at the prospect of "centralisation" in the European Union. The two men said it was vital to maintain the present system of equal rights for EU members. Smaller EU countries have expressed concern that the new draft EU Constitution, unveiled at the recent summit in Thessaloniki, gives too much power to bigger countries such as France and Germany. However Mr Spidla welcomed moves to give future EU members a full say in deciding on the future Constitution. The Czech Republic is among 10 countries planning to join the EU in May 2004.

Human rights groups have criticised a court verdict in Karlovy Vary after three police officers received suspended sentences for an attack on a Roma man. The court found the three guilty of beating up Karel Billy in woods near the city in May 2001 and sentenced them to ten months in prison, suspended for two years. Two other officers involved in the incident were set free. The court ruled the attack was not racially motivated. All three defendants and the state prosecutor appealed against the verdict, which was criticised by the government's human rights commissioner Jan Jarab.