Press Review
All the Czech newspapers today report on the latest findings in the search for the terrorists responsible for the US attack last month, and write that many clues lead to Europe. But in Lidove noviny Petruska Sustrova looks back at an anti-American demonstration in Prague on Saturday, called "Global resistance". Opponents of globalization, she writes, use the same ideology as opponents of imperialism, which we know all too well from the days of the Cold War. One of the slogans at Saturday's demonstration was: President Bush is a murderer. The demonstrators also pointed out that in the past, the US supported terrorist action against the Soviet Union.
But if the main goal of the demonstration was to voice protest against supporters of terrorism, then they should have protested against Russia, because in the past, terrorists received support from the Soviet Union and its satellite nations, writes Mrs. Sustrova. But that would ruin the ideological purity of the fight against imperialism - as well as the fight against globalization, concludes Lidove noviny.
"The Czech Police are after people who approve of last month's attacks on the United States," reads a headline in today's Mlada fronta Dnes. The paper points out that while two men have already faced charges of approving a crime, in countries more affected by terrorism, no action has yet been taken against such people. The first man to face charges is the chairman of the ultra-right National Socialist Bloc, Jan Kopal, who has described Bin Laden as "a good example to be followed by our children". Another one is a football fan who chanted the Bin Laden's name during a match in Prague.
Similar cases have occurred in Britain, writes Mlada fronta Dnes, but the British Home Secretary David Blunkett has refused to even detain the leader of one of the extremist groups. Mr. Blunkett explained that detaining the man would only make him a martyr. In Greece, too, anti-American slogans have been chanted but no detentions made. And punishing Czech loudmouths might not be an easy job, concludes the paper.
And on a different note, Pravo writes that as soon as the Czech Republic gains access to the International Criminal Court, the Czech constitution will have to be amended. According to the Justice Minister Jaroslav Bures, passages that bar criminal prosecution of the president, MPs, Senators and judges will have to be changed when they face charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression, which fall under the competence of the International Criminal Court, writes Pravo.
And finally, Prazske slovo informs its readers that within a few days, the price of milk and dairy products will go up by up to seven percent. The paper writes that this is mainly because dairy products are no longer as abundant in Czech shops, as they used to be. This development was inevitable, writes Prazske slovo - the main reason being a substantial drop in the numbers of cattle throughout Europe, because of mad cow disease. And so Czechs will pay more - also because consumption of cheese and yogurts has grown, as more and more people here wish to live a more healthy life. 42
