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Was NATO information leaked to Belgrade from the Czech Republic?
An article published in the British daily newspaper The Guardian on Thursday claims that top secret detail's of NATO's bombing campaign against Serbia last year may have been leaked to Belgrade. Following its publication, a British Member of Parliament hinted that this information may have been leaked by one of the alliance's new member states, and mentioned persisting Czech secret service ties with Moscow. Nick Carey has the details...
The Guardian article, quoting a forthcoming BBC documentary, claims that according to high-level US sources, a spy in NATO provided Serbia with top-secret details of allied bombing raids against Yugoslavia. In the first two weeks of the campaign, the paper says, a report drafted for US defence officials concluded that the Serbs had access to NATO's daily orders, enabling them to move men and equipment around with less risk of detection.Wind storms and flooding hit Czech Republic
NATO officials have dismissed the report. NATO Secretary General George Robertson told Reuters that no evidence had been provided to support the claim.
The plot thickened when a British Member of Parliament for the opposition Liberal Democrats, Menzies Campbell, who is the party's defence spokesman, said in an interview with the BBC that the information could have been leaked by one of the three new member states, Hungary, Poland or the Czech Republic. Mr. Campbell mentioned, for example, that the Czech Republic's secret services were still in fairly intimate contact with old friends in Moscow prior to joining NATO.
Mr. Campbell's statement has been greeted with mixed reactions in the Czech Republic on the eve of its first anniversary of NATO membership. Minister without Portfolio Jaroslav Basta, who is responsible for the Czech secret services, did not rule out that there could be a Czech connection. Mr. Basta pointed out, however, that all members of Czech intelligence had undergone two security screenings prior to the Czech Republic's accession to NATO. He said that the affair should be investigated by the Defence Ministry. Sources at the Defence Ministry, however, claim that the ministry has no information that would indicate that any Czech representatives in NATO had provided information to Belgrade.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ales Pospisil was dismissive of Mr. Campbell's statement:
"The Czech Republic is a completely loyal member of the alliance, and the role that we have played during our first year of NATO membership has been highly praised by US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, NATO General Secretary Robertson and General Clarke. Both Roberston and General Clarke have called the British MP's statement mere speculation."
Menzies Campbell was unavailable for comment when Radio Prague called his parliamentary office in London, but his staff informed Radio Prague that Mr. Campbell had merely used the Czech Republic as an example, that this was not a specific allegation aimed at the Czechs, and that he regretted any negative effects his statement had caused.
The saga, however, continues. According to an article in Friday's edition of the German daily Die Tageszeitung, a US Air Force officer was responsible for the leak to Belgrade. The officer, who spoke to the paper on the condition that his name not be divulged, apparently justified his actions by saying the air campaign against Belgrade was unjust.
Torrential rains have taken their toll on the Czech Republic. A state of emergency was declared on Thursday in several regions in the north of the country, where gale force winds and flooding have caused 2 deaths. Jana Kotalik has the details:
Heavy rains pounded the Czech Republic on Thursday afternoon. This coupled with unseasonably warm weather melted snow in the mountains in the north of the country swelling several Czech rivers. The Jizer river was reported to be rising by 8 cm every half hour on Thursday night. Several towns and villages in northeast Bohemia had to be evacuated.Zeman criticises immigration law
The rains have so far been blamed for 2 deaths. The CTK News Agency reported that a 65-year-old woman may have drowned. And near the north Moravian city of Olomouc, a cyclist died when hit by a falling tree. On Thursday evening, Czech TV stations showed families struggling with flood waters in the basements and ground floors of their homes. Trains have been halted in some areas, due to trees littering the tracks and several roads and highways have also been closed.
By Friday morning, water levels were reported to have stabilised. But more rain is expected over the weekend and the state of emergency remains in force.
For many, these storms have brought back unhappy memories of the summer of 1997. Flooding then resulted in dozens of deaths and caused damage that many parts of eastern Bohemia and Moravia are still recovering from. The authorities were blamed for slow rescue operations.
This time, the government has acted quickly in providing information to the public. An Internet website has already been set up where people can send their donations and get the latest news. This site runs on the same computer system used in solving the Y2K problem.
The Czech Republic has recently adopted a new immigration law which has made life more difficult for everyone travelling to the Czech Republic - businessmen, foreign workers and ordinary tourists. Now, the Czech prime minister has heeded the mass criticism of the law and has promised to act to improve the situation. Vladimir Tax reports.
At a meeting with the members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Prague on Thursday, Prime Minister Milos Zeman admitted that the law on immigration and residency of foreigners was flawed and needed to be changed.Havel concerned by growth of economic crime
The law stiffened the conditions for entry of foreigners into the Czech Republic, requiring them to fill in special forms at the border and submit two photographs. They must also present a document proving they have booked accommodation, a proof of health insurance and enough money for their stay and return journey. Citizens of the United States, Canada, Japan, Israel, EU members and some Central European countries are unofficially exempt from the regulations.
Prime Minister Zeman said there were undesirable and unexpected consequences and side effects in the substance of the residency law. Many foreigners were unaware of the changes until they reached the Czech border or Prague's international airport, causing massive queues and delays. The law also tightened conditions for work permits and forced long-term foreign residents to renew their work permits at Czech embassies or consulates in their respective home country, even after working in the Czech Republic legally for several years.
This immigration and residency was originally meant as a measure against the black labour market, especially the influx of illegal workers from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, which is connected with organised crime.
Now, after less than three months in force, the controversial law is to be changed. However, the Prime Minister did not elaborate on concrete amendments or a time perspective.
Czech President Vaclav Havel says he is deeply concerned over the growth of economic crime in his country and the slow pace of investigating and prosecuting the most blatant cases. On Thursday, Havel spent two hours meeting with the Czech Police's special task force dealing with corruption and economic crime. Libor Kubik has more.
Indeed, corruption and economic crime are tarnishing the international image of the Czech Republic, besides having an adverse impact on the credibility of so many state employees. President Havel has repeatedly said he is gravely concerned by specific facets of economic crime, Czech style. After all, "tunelovani" or "tunnelling", the newly-coined Czech nickname for asset stripping, has entered the international crime vocabulary.
"We are talking about tens or even hundreds of billions of crowns stashed away by economic criminals or lost to organised crime", President Havel told Czech Radio after a meeting with the task force and Czech Police President Jiri Kolar. Mr Havel criticised the inability of the state to investigate these cases and to prosecute their perpetrators in an efficient way, "till the end of the case", he said. In Havel's view, this is having a very adverse impact on public opinion and the Czech people's trust in a democratic state and its institutions.
Police Chief Kolar admits that the investigation of economic crime is sluggish at best. But the police director says his people really should not be blamed for incompetence or foot-dragging on cases. Rather, he argues that the crime police and their investigators are being hampered in their efforts by the non-existence of Parliament-sanctioned process codes which would greatly expedite their work. He says a streamlined procedure is needed. A streamlined new amendment to the Czech criminal code, he says, has been on the parliamentary table for ages - but so far no legislator has shown any concern.
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