Archive: Foreign policy | Czech-American relations Czech-American relations
Pirate of Prague inches closer to extradition to U.S.
Viktor Kozeny, the so-called Pirate of Prague, appeared one step closer to
extradition to the United States on Thursday. A court in the Bahamas - Mr
Kozeny's adopted home - confirmed June's decision to deport him to the
U.S. to face charges of bribing senior government officials in Azerbaijan.
However Czech investors allegedly defrauded by Mr Kozeny in the 1990s are
still no closer to seeing their money.
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Czech Republic asks ex-pats in US to help abolish visas for Czechs
This week hundreds of thousands of Czech Americans will open envelopes from
the Czech Embassy in Washington asking them to join a campaign to abolish
US visas for Czech citizens. For years the Czech Republic has striven to
be included in the US waiver programme, which would put relations on an
equal footing, but so far in vain. Now it is asking Czech ex-pats in the
United States to bring the matter to the attention of their congressmen.
Jakub Skalinik of the Czech Foreign Ministry explains what the campaign
aims to achieve:
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Missile defense base decision expected by end of August
For some months now there has been speculation about the United States
building a new missile base somewhere in Central Europe. Initially
analysts tipped Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic as key candidate
countries for the base. Hungary now appears to be out of the running and
it would seem the chances of a base being built here are increasing - on
Sunday the Czech foreign minister, Cyril Svoboda, said it was almost
certain Prague would play some part in the project. Richard Krpac,
spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, explains the latest developments:
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US experts to scour potential missile sites, as Polish paper says deal already done
A team of U.S. military experts arrives in the Czech Republic next week to
examine potential sites for a new missile defence base. The United States
is said to be considering either the Czech Republic, Poland or Hungary for
the new facility, but a Polish newspaper reports that Washington has
already reached agreement with Warsaw. Rob Cameron has the following
report.
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Time running out for decision on US missile bases
It began as a rumour, but is now beginning to take shape. The United
States, it seems, is serious about plans to build controversial new
missile bases in Central Europe. The Americans reportedly have their eyes
on a number of potential locations, and several Czech politicians have
already given the idea their support. But the timing of the project could
not be less fortunate - with so much uncertainty over the future
government.
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US mulls building missile defence base in Czech Republic or Poland
The media has been full of reports in recent weeks of plans by the US to
build a missile defence system in Central Europe - largely a response to
Iran's sabre-rattling over its nuclear programme. This summer - according
to the New York Times - the Pentagon will choose between two countries:
Poland and the Czech Republic. Rob Cameron spoke to Radek Khol, head of
the Centre for Security Analysis at the Institute of International
Relations in Prague.
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Czechs and their supporters looking into ways of attaining US visa waiver status
Why do Czechs need a visa to travel to the United States while US citizens
only need a passport to visit the Czech Republic? This is a question that
comes up again and again. The US authorities have two main answers: the
terrorist attacks of September 2001 have led to a stricter visa policy to
protect national security; secondly the number of Czechs who enter the
United States on a tourist visa to work there illegally is estimated at
tens of thousands and has to be regulated. Both arguments sound pretty
convincing, but some Czechs are not willing to give up without a fight and
are looking for ways of persuading the US authorities to lift the visa
requirement.
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FBI seizes "Pirate of Prague" Kozeny in Bahamas paradise
Viktor Kozeny, the so-called Pirate of Prague, is currently sitting in a
police cell in his adopted home of the Bahamas, after being arrested by
the FBI. On Thursday US federal prosecutors charged him and two other men
with participating in a scheme to bribe senior government officials in
Azerbaijan over lucrative oil privatisation deals. He now faces
extradition to the U.S. But as Rob Cameron reports, Czech investors who say they were
defrauded by Mr Kozeny have little hope of seeing their money again.
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