Press Review
The Czech Republic is in the grip of NATO-mania and the papers report on the upcoming NATO summit from every conceivable angle: who will be invited to join the alliance in Prague, what transformation NATO needs to undergo to meet the new challenges ahead and most of all security matters. NATO related stories fill the Czech dailies from cover to cover.
President Havel says in Lidove Noviny that, in his view, membership in NATO is one of the Czech Republic's most significant achievements since the fall of communism. For the first time in its history the Czech Republic is part of a community of nations which upholds human rights, freedom and democracy, says the Czech President, and the fact that the Czech Republic is hosting this summit shows that the country is regarded as a trustworthy ally.
Lidove Noviny notes that after the second NATO expansion which will be announced here in Prague the Czech Republic will no longer be a buffer state. The paper also says that given the alliance's new mission in combating international terrorism the Czech proposal for NATO countries to specialize in given fields of military activity will carry more weight than ever.
The papers write about the biggest security operation in the country's history - with 12,000 police officers and 4,000 soldiers out in the streets, marksmen on rooftops and US and Czech fighter jets protecting the skies over the Czech Republic. Pravo notes that the Czech interior ministry is far more worried about the possibility of a terrorist attack than about the street riots which are expected to accompany the two day event.
Mlada Fronta Dnes writes about Tuesday's bomb scare - an explosive device found on a rail track east of Prague. Luckily the device was found and diffused before it could do any damage, the paper writes but the culprit is still at large and the police suspect that it is the same person who attempted to damage Czech Railways on previous occasions and who sent the media an open letter saying he was against the Czech Cabinet and against NATO.
Hospodarske Noviny has tried to ascertain the approximate number of anti-NATO protesters who are in Prague for the summit. According to the Czech Intelligence Service and a source in the anarchists' camp hundreds of protesters are already in the Czech capital, including militant groups. The paper notes that the Czech interior ministry is expecting an estimated 12,000 protesters and has deployed 12,000 officers, including specially trained riot police, on the streets to keep the situation under control.
So is it all worth the effort? - asks Hospodarske Noviny, noting that on the surface the Czech capital has little to gain from this international gathering. The security measures have turned many people's lives upside down, many have been forced to leave their homes, others are concerned about the possibility of terrorist attacks, the city's public transport will be seriously affected.
Although the benefits of hosting such a meeting are less visible than overturned cars and smashed shop windows they do exist - says Hospodarske Noviny. A well organized summit will show the world that we are not a banana republic, that we are a country where it is possible to meet, talk and do business in safe and pleasant surroundings. That is a long-term investment that will surely pay off, the paper says.
