Vaclav Klaus, the President of the Czech Republic, has just stated that he supports the U.S. missile shield and that he intends to go ahead with the plan to install parts of the system on his territory, unnecessarily heightening tensions in Europe and endangering international stability in the process. He appears to be willing to defy the wishes of the Czech People, who oppose the plan by a margin of 2 to 1... and opposition is growing. The wishes and concerns of the Czech People have been completely ignored, as have our own here in the U.S.This missile shield is not necessary, and most experts question the Bush Administrations rationale for it. The plan is being pushed by pro war neo-conservative nuts in the Bush administration who have always wanted to increase tensions with the Russians.
Czech and Polish citizens oppose the plan and they are currently working to get a referendum vote on the issue. Certain that a referendum vote would kill the deal, the governments of Poland and the Czech Republic are both trying to find ways to deny their citizens any say in the matter. Find More Information From the Website BasesOutNow.Org. A petition against the missile shield can be found on the website. It is ironic that Bush & Co. is criticizing other countries about a lack of Democracy during his G-8 trip in Germany, yet at the same time, he (with the help of the Polish and Czech governments) is looking for ways to deny Polish and Czech citizens of their right to vote against his missile shield plan. And there is also a lack of Democracy right here in the United States, where voters have no say so at all about national issues.
But in the Czech Republic, it appears that Klaus wants to be the next Poodle for Bush. With the upcoming departure of Tony Blair, I guess Bush needs a new lapdog in Europe. But will the Czech People stand for it? I am hopeful that the Czech citizens will run Klaus out of office. That is one of the big differences between Europe and the U.S. In Europe, the citizens usually stand up to their leaders, and run them out of town if necessary. Europeans have been through too much over the past 60+ years to put up with any nonsense. In the U.S., it is hard to get people involved in what little Democracy we have left. And unfortunately there are no mechanisms in the U.S. for removing elected officials who are out of control and are defying the will of the people. It's hard to even get an opposition Party to do anything in this Country. But in the case of the Czechs.... I just don't think that they will stand for this missile shield nor for Klaus's willingness to blatantly ignore public sentiment.
Klaus is putting other interests above the interests of his people. Once an elected official demonstrates clear disregard for his constituents, then it is usually time for him or her to leave.
It will be interesting to see if the People of the Czech Republic are willing to stand up against their leaders. Maybe the Czech's could teach the American public what Democracy is really all about.
__________________
Related Article
Opposition To U.S. Missile Shield Growing
Links
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment