Prague, Nov 21 (CTK) - The movement Non-Violence along with the Mayors' League against the Radar on Friday sent a letter to U.S. President-elect Barack Obama asking him to reconsider the planned stationing of the U.S. radar on Czech soil, Non-Violence spokesman Jan Tamas told journalists.

The Non-Violence along with the Mayors' League against the Radar want to launch a campaign against the radar base during the forthcoming Czech EU presidency and ask the European Parliament to deal with the issue.

"We will conduct a strong campaign on the European level against the plan," Tamas said.

Perhaps 40 mayors from the area around the planned radar base want to appear in the European Parliament at the invitation of Italian MEP Giulietto Chiesa on February 24, 2009.

They want to prompt a united stand on the radar in the Czech Republic, especially on account of EU's raw materials dependency on Russia.

"We want the EU to adopt a clear stand, to start a discussion on the issue," Tamas said.

The letter has been signed by 29 mayors from the area in question. It was sent to 700 Czech and foreign papers.

Chiesa is an independent MEP, a former senior official of the Italian Communist Party youth organisation.

The radar base is to be installed in the Brdy military district, some 90km southwest of Prague. Along with a silo with interceptor missiles in Poland, it is to form the U.S. anti-missile shield in Central Europe that is to protect the USA and a large part of Europe against hostile missiles that states such as Iran may launch.

Prague and Washington signed the two radar treaties this summer. The treaties are yet to be discussed by Czech parliament where they are not sure of the necessary majority of votes.

The radar project is opposed by the left-wing opposition and a majority of Czechs, including inhabitants of the towns situated on the edge of Brdy in central and west Bohemia.

The radar opponents believe that Obama could drop the plan to install elements of the U.S. missile shield in Europe.

According to Chiesa, European security must be negotiated on European level. Bilateral Czech-U.S. and Polish-U.S. talks weaken the EU and the missile defence shield, installed on Czech and Polish soil, would worsen the EU-Russia relations, he said.

http://praguemonitor.com/2008/11/24/czech-opponents-us-radar-ask-obama-scrap-it