Tiny village holds symbolic referendum on radar base

Residents of Visky, a tiny village near the Brdy military zone, are holding a symbolic referendum on a proposed US radar base. The United States have asked the Czech Republic to host a radar installation as part of a broader missile defence shield the US has planned in Europe. Visky has 31 residents eligible to vote: at least two-thirds had voted by noon Saturday. The mayor told the media that locals were against the idea of a radar installation not only in the Brdy area but in the whole Czech Republic.

The referendum, which is not binding, follows a similar vote held in the village of Trokavec, where 71 of 72 voters were against. Negotiations on a possible US radar base in the Czech Republic will continue between Czech and US representatives until later this year.