Preps for US-Czech missile defence treaty signing, security
(8 Jul 2008) SHOTLIST 1. Wide shot, people on streets of Prague 2. Police on street 3. Activist stall on street 4. Various, anti-missile flags 5. SOUNDBITE: (Czech) Vera Planakova, Vox Pop: "I think they will do what they want. We can't make any changes about the radar. I really didn't pay lots of attention." 6. SOUNDBITE: (Czech) Vox Pop, no name given: "I support the radar and find that beneficial for our country. I think it will secure us for the future." 7. Newspaper stall 8. Close up of newspaper headline reading "D-day for Swarzenberg" (referring to Czech Foreign Minister Karel Swarzenberg ) 9. SOUNDBITE: (Czech) Vox Pop, no name given: "I am definitely for the radar. We can't sit and wait for someone to come and protect us." 10. Anti-radar activists outside Prague National Museum STORYLINE: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was set to arrive in Prague on Tuesday morning to sign an agreement to build a US missile defence base near Prague, despite fierce Czech parliamentary opposition that could yet scupper the project. The US and the Czech Republic announced in April they had agreed on a treaty for the US to build and operate a proposed radar base near the Czech capital as part of its global missile defence system. Rice is set to sign the deal in Prague on Tuesday, but a second treaty dealing with the status of US soldiers at the site is still to be agreed. The two treaties will also need approval by the Czech parliament. The government has too few seats to guarantee their passage and would need the help of opposition votes. Opposition parties are strongly critical of the missile defence plan and have demanded a national referendum. According to polls, around two-thirds of Czechs oppose the base. There was little opposition in evidence in Prague on Tuesday morning, although a group of anti-radar activists had set up a stall outside the city's National Museum. One woman, Vera Planakova, said: "I think they will do what they want. We can't make any changes about the radar. I really didn't pay lots of attention." One man was in favour of the deal, saying: "I support the radar and find that beneficial for our country. I think will secure us for the future." Another was also in support, saying: "I am definitely for the radar. We can't sit and wait for someone to come and protect us." The proposed US missile defence system calls for a tracking radar in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles in Poland as part of a shield designed to protect the region from possible attacks from the Middle East. Talks between Poland and the United States have stalled, although both sides said Monday they would continue despite Warsaw's rebuff of the latest US offer. Poland is seeking (b) billions of dollars worth of US military aid. Russia opposes the plans, saying US military installations in former Soviet satellites poses a threat Russian security. Moscow has threatened to aim its own missiles at any eventual base in Poland or the Czech Republic. The US Defence Department wants to have the Polish and Czech sites in operation by about 2012. More than 100-thousand people have signed a petition against the Czech radar base, according to Jan Majicek of the No Bases Initiative, which organises protests against the missile defence plan. The next one is scheduled for Tuesday evening in Prague's downtown Wenceslas Square. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
