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Current AffairsCriticism for prime minister's Czech-Bavarian discussion forum
Current AffairsBMW and Sudetens discussed by Zeman in Bavaria
10 Billion DM and 3,000 new jobs - that's the prize on offer as the German
car manufacturer BMW decides upon the location of a their new car-parts
plant. BMW investment was high on the agenda of Czech Premier Milos Zeman
during his visit to Bavaria Tuesday. The Bohemian town of Kolin is very much
in the running for the investment, and according to government spokesman
Libor Roucek, the discussions in Bavaria gave cause for optimism... He spoke
to .
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Current AffairsSudeten German leader calls on Czechs to resolve issues with German minority
The issue of the Benes Decrees, which led to the expulsion of up to three million ethnic Germans from former Czechoslovakia after the Second World War, remains controversial and is a frequent topic in both the Czech and German press. The fact, however, that there are anywhere up to sixty thousand ethnic Germans living in the Czech Republic today is rarely mentioned by either side. On Monday, the leader of a Sudeten organisation in Germany, Bernd Posselt, called on the Czech government to resolve outstanding issues with the German minority in the Czech Republic, especially that of property confiscated by the Czechoslovak government both in 1945 and in 1948 after the communist takeover. According to Mr. Posselt, the Czech government deals with the German minority like second-class citizens, and warned that although the Czechs may not perceive this as a problem, the European Union is watching. Earlier, spoke to Rostislav Cerny, who runs a radio service for ethnic Germans in the Czech Republic, and asked him first what he thought of the claim that ethnic Germans are treated as second-class citizens:
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Current AffairsFrom confrontation to reconciliation over Lezacky
A request for forgiveness was heard for the very first time on Friday, September 1st in the district around the former village of Lezaky. Lezaky was destroyed by the Nazis in June 1942, and 33 adults were shot dead without trial. Their descendants met on Friday with representatives of the Christian organisation of the Sudeten Germans, Ackermanngemeinde, to discuss the fate of those who died. has the story: More
Current AffairsGermany will make no territorial claims on its neighbours, says Chancellor Schroeder
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder made an unprecedented attempt on Sunday to end a 30-year feud between his party and millions of ethnic Germans forced out of their homes in East Europe after WWII. In the first speech by a chancellor to the main annual gathering of the exiles, Mr. Schroeder said that Germany had no territorial claims against its neighbours. has this report:
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Current AffairsUSA backs post-WWII Czech actions
On Wednesday the United States confirmed the validity of the post-World War Two actions of Czechoslovakia, the most controversial of which was the expulsion of Czechoslovakia's Sudeten German population. The Benes decrees, which sanctioned the expulsion, have long been a point of tension between Czechs and Germans, and now the United States government has made an important ruling. has the details.
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Current AffairsSudeten Germans demand punishment for Czech camp commandant
It's 55 years since the end of the Second World War, but in a number of cases the issue of punishment for war criminals remains unresolved. Few new cases have emerged in recent years, but now the spokesman of the leading Sudeten German organisation, the Landsmannschaft, has come up with a new angle, demanding that a Czech, Frantisek Foukal, be prosecuted for the massacre of German civilians after the war. has the story.
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