News

The police seized nine paintings on Friday belonging to the fugitive businessman Radovan Křejčíř which were to be sold at an auction. If sold, the nine works by renowned Czech modernist painters Jan Zrzavý and Václav Špála could go at an estimated 80 million crowns, or more than 5 million U.S. dollars. Fugitive Radovan Křejčíř is wanted in the Czech Republic for a number of crimes including conspiracy to murder, counterfeiting and extortion. Mr Křejčíř ran away in 2005 and is currently living in South Africa with his family.

The play-off final of the Czech ice-hockey top division, the O2 extraliga, is underway between Slavia Prague and Energie Karlovy Vary. The best-of-seven playoff began on Friday in Prague when the visiting side marked a surprising victory over Slavia 5:4. The second match of the series on Saturday saw the victory of the Prague-based team 5:2 setting the score of the entire series to 1:1. The seven-game series will move to Karlovy Vary on Tuesday for another two games.

The opposition Social Democrats have called on the government to link the vote on the planned U.S. radar base with a vote on confidence. The Czech Republic and the United States reached agreement at the NATO summit in Bucharest concerning the siting of a U.S. tracking radar base in the Czech Republic as part of the American missile defence shield. The treaty between the two countries is expected to be signed at the beginning of May in Prague; both chambers of the Czech Parliament will then vote on the document. The demand by the opposition Social Democrats has been rejected by Deputy Prime Minister Petr Nečas who said the government would not listen to such extremist proposals.

In related news, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek confirmed that next Tuesday the country’s National Security Council would discuss the Czech-U.S. Status of Forces agreement, defining the status of U.S. troops on Czech soil in connection with the planned radar base. A new round of bilateral talks between the US and the Czech Republic is then to continue on Wednesday, with a final agreement expected by April 11. Defence Minister Vlasta Parkánová said on Thursday that the Security Council should now decide whether to preserve the mandate of Czech negotiators or make modifications. Besides covering the legal status of US soldiers, the SOFA also deals with environmental and transport issues as well as other factors including controls by authorities over construction and taxation.

Communist Party leader Vojtěch Filip said on Saturday that the Czech Republic undergoing deep political and economic crisis. Speaking a party conference, the communist politician said the government was based on treason by two opposition MPs and it defied public opinion concerning the possible siting of a U.S. radar base in the country. Mr Filip also noted that about 100 billion crowns, or more than 6.2 billion U.S. dollars, of economic profits leave the country each year.