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US Army promotes radar among Czechs
31.05.2008

As protests continue in the Czech Republic over a joint United States-Czech plan to set up a missile defense system using a radar from the Reagan Test Site in the Marshall Islands, the U.S. government has embarked on a public relations campaign to encourage support for the plan.

Atol Kwajalein z radarem tarczy antyrakietowej (na cyplu po lewej)

The Czech and American governments have reached a deal for a US radar base to be established in central Bohemia. With most Czechs opposed to the project, the U.S. Embassy's American Center in Prague has launched a photo exhibition entitled "Life with the Radar" that documents life on the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, which hosts the radar facility that could one day be moved to the Czech Republic, according to Radio Prague.

The U.S. government flew a group of journalists and officials from the Czech Republic to Kwajalein earlier this year to see the facilities first hand.

Miroslav Konvalina, the head of the American Center and a former Czech Radio correspondent in the United States, is one of the authors of the exhibition, who said: "It was a unique opportunity for Czech reporters, only a few of them have had a chance to visit the Marshall Islands and the Reagan Test Site on the Kwajalein Atoll surrounding the world's largest lagoon. People may be surprised, just as we were, to find out that there are 13,500 people living in the close vicinity of the radar."

He said the exhibit isn't promoting a particular message. "We just wanted to show what we saw because we know that most people in this country will never have a chance to go there. There are beautiful beaches; there are playgrounds, swimming pools, a golf course. Some of these facilities are very close to the radar. We were in fact surprised that the people who work at the base sometimes have their family barbecues just outside the radar."

As the "Life with the Radar" exhibit was opening late last month, local protests escalated with two protestors starting a hunger strike, now into its third week.

But the exhibit was panned Frank Kuznik, a staff writer with the Prague Post, late last week. Kuznik writes: "The photos that Konvalina and two colleagues from TV Nova brought back show a low-key military installation set in a tropical paradise, with the distinctive dome of the radar framed by palm trees, white beaches and bright blue skies. Accompanying text describes daily activities on and around the base, with schoolchildren singing, families picnicking and life generally sweet and safe under the X-band beam."

He quotes Nova reporter Martin Rusek: "We talked to a Marshallese government representative, some woman who did environmental studies, and a physician, and they all told us that the radar has had no negative impact on people's health or the environment. Everyone was very positive."

Observed Kuznik: "No surprise, since the visit was totally stage-managed by U.S. military officials, who planned the itinerary, accompanied the reporters on their rounds and locked up their equipment at 5 p.m."

"That was the only disappointment, that we couldn't film after 5, when you see the real life of the island" - Rusek said.

Added the Prague Post reporter: "That's typical of any media visit to a U.S. government facility, particularly a military base, where equipment and information is often classified. Nor has there been serious concern about potential side-effects of living with the radar, apart from some initial objections voiced by mayors in the Brdy area. In fact, the radar, pointed skyward, has never posed any discernable health problems on the ground - aside from the possibility of getting a bomb dropped on your head. But the Czech reporters never had a chance to discuss that with the locals."

But he asked, would it have even mattered? "People who live near military bases tend to like the jobs and revenue it brings, so maybe not" - Kuznik wrote. "And the Marshallese have been living with the U.S. military since 1944, when U.S. troops captured the islands from the Japanese during the Pacific campaign of World War II. Still, it would have been interesting to get a better sampling of the Marshallese mindset than the one provided by a display case filled with a grass skirt, ukulele and handmade trinkets."

Meanwhile, a blog posted Friday described a two-man hunger strike that is trying to elevate protest in the Czech Republic.

"Two campaigners in Prague are taking anti-radar base protests to another level. They've been on hunger strike for 18 days as the Czech Republic nears agreement with the U.S. to host part of its missile defense shield. Jan Bednar from the 'No to the Base' campaign group has lost 10 kilograms (about 22 pounds) in weight in just over two weeks. At the 'No to the Base' headquarters in Prague, second hunger striker Jan Tamas is documenting their plight on the Web. He too has eaten nothing for 18 days, drinking only water. He says he'll only stop the strike if the government meets one of three demands: 'This means receiving a clear sign that negotiations about this base will be stopped, or getting a clear sign that there'll be a national referendum on the issue or that an open democratic debate about this issue will begin to take place.'"

By Pacific Magazine

Check on the internet:

Prague Post web site

Czech Radio report on Kwajalein radar

Mallolin Blog related to issue

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list of embassies

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