Politicians say decision on US radar base will be made by Czechs alone

Czech politicians say that the decision on whether the country should host a US radar base is in the hands of the Czech Republic alone, but they fail to agree on whether it should be made by Parliament or the people. In a televised debate on Sunday Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said that national security issues should be decided by Parliament, since the Czech Republic was a parliamentary democracy. Opposition leader Jiri Paroubek countered that according to opinion surveys close to 70 percent of Czechs oppose the deployment of a US radar base on Czech territory and therefore it would be fair to let the people decide in a referendum. The question whether or not the Czech Republic should agree to hosting a US radar base as part of a US missile defense system in central Europe is a highly debated issue. Czech-American talks on the matter are expected to continue until the end of the year.