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ambassador and experts have persuaded the locals to change their mind. They still express fears of health risks connected with the radar, a decrease in their real estate prices and primarily increased security risks. "The atmosphere in our village as well as all around remains the same, we do not want the radar. We have no reason to change our mind," said Trokavec Mayor Jan Neoral, one of the sharpest opponents of the radar base. Trokavec, along with Misov and Tesliny, is the nearest village to the planned radar base. The United States wants to build the radar base on the Brdy military grounds, 90 km southwest of Prague, and a base with ten interceptor missiles in Poland within its missile shield. The Central European elements are to protect the United States and a large part of the European continent against missiles that states like Iran might launch. The Czech government has completed its talks with the United States on the main radar treaty, while the negotiations on the complementary SOFA treaty, dealing with U.S. soldiers' status on Czech territory still continue. Rice will arrive in the Czech Republic on July 8 to sign the main treaty, along with Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg. The radar treaties must be ratified by Czech parliament and signed by President Vaclav Klaus to take effect. The local inhabitants in Brdy criticise the government campaign to promote the radar. "It was pointless, only a lot of money was wasted on it," a Misov inhabitant said. The whole pro-radar campaign has allegedly cost over 15 million crowns. People have also complained about what they call the "arrogant" behaviour of some government politicians, including Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek (Civic Democrats, ODS). Some radar opponents also believe that the United States has not made the final decision on the radar yet. "The U.S. Congress, too, has started debating the missile defence shield as something problematic, maybe useless and inefficient, this fills us with great hopes," Neoral said. He also pointed to the sceptical approach to the defence shield in the team of U.S. Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama. Most inhabitants of the Brdy municipalities have opposed the project since January 2007 when the United States asked for placing the radar base in the Brdy military district. Inhabitants of Trokavec were the first to reject the radar in a local plebiscite held on March 17, 2007. Out of the 72 voters who participated in the referendum, 71 were against it. Referenda and local polls concerning the radar base have taken place in a number of towns and villages in central and west Bohemia, bordering on the Brdy military grounds, and a crushing majority of inhabitants have always expressed disagreement with the radar base. However, results of local referenda are not binding on the government. A year ago, Misov was officially selected by the Defence Ministry for the final measurements in connection with the radar. Since then the so far calm village has seen stormy protests, emotional debates and visits by top politicians. The senior opposition Communists (KSCM) have staged two anti-radar demonstrations in Misov, but not many locals attended it though they disagreed with the radar. Richard Graber, U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic, have also participated in informal debates on the radar base in Misov. A year ago, a little stony hill in Brdy, spot height 718, was for the first time mentioned as the exact location for the radar base. In protest against it, Czech Greenpeace activists occupied the spot height for a couple of weeks from the end of April till June 9 when the military evicted them from the area and then surrounded the spot-height with barbed-wire barriers. Local mayors in Brdy have also complained about the poor state of their municipalities' infrastructure. In spite of it, they did not welcome the government's promise of high subsidies for the region in connection with the radar base. Neoral and other mayors reiterated that they would not sell their opinions for money. A total of 1.25 billion crowns are to be earmarked for 22 Brdy municipalities partially from the state budget and from Czech and European programmes. Not only Brdy inhabitants oppose the U.S. radar base, but some two thirds of Czechs are against the project, according to the latest polls. ($1=15.077 crowns)
(Ceske Noviny)
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