Czech Defence News of the Week (9 November – 16 November 2018)

Author: Vladimír Marek, army.cz|Caption: Veterans Day 2018

On the Veterans Day the Czech Armed Forces, politicians, and the public commemorated the bravery and heroism of the soldiers who fought in two world wars – Direct combat operations by the Czech troops to be discussed, Prime Minister says – Government refused to participate in the United Nations Global Compact for Migration - Chief of General Staff visited the 31st Regiment of Radiological, Chemical and Biological Protection based in Liberec.

• Prime Minister Andrej Babiš joined the world leaders in France for commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice treaty that brought an end to World War One (11th November 1918). It is estimated that 1.4 million Czech and Slovak men fought in the war, most of them under the Austro-Hungarian flag, by the end of the War there was about 140 thousand men in the Czechoslovak legions. About 10 % were killed during the war in total, including over 5000 legionaries.

• On 10^th November a ceremony was held on Náměstí míru in Prague at the occasion of Veterans Day and the end of the Great War. Minister of Defence Lubomír Metnar said the crucial role in establishment of independent Czechoslovakia was held by the Czechoslovak legionaries. He also paid homage to the Czech soldiers who were recently killed in action in Afghanistan (Resolute Support Mission). The Veterans Days is marked in the Czech Republic since 2001. There is about 14,000 registered veterans, including 500 veterans of World War Two.

See also: Foreign deployments: Czech casualties since 1991

• To mark the Veterans Day 2018 representatives of the Czech Armed Forces, politicians, and the public commemorated the bravery and heroism of the soldiers who fought in two world wars and, this year, a new generation of war veterans were also recognised. Minister of Defence Metnar awarded 22 veterans with the Cross of Merit of Minister of Defence, including the soldiers from the foreign missions.

See also: Minister of Defence decorates heroes from WWII and recent conflicts

• On 12^th November at the Peace Forum in Paris, Prime Minister Babiš said that in the past Czech troops had been directly involved in NATO’s combat operations against international terrorism and it might be time to consider sending them into direct combat again. He said this was a sensitive political decision that would have to be discussed both at home and with the country’s NATO allies.

See also: Czech Foreign Deployments – Reinforcements announced (2018-2019)

• On 13^th November web Seznam Zprávy published an interview with the Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’ younger son who claimed he had been forcibly detained in Crimea by his father’s associates at the time of the investigation of the Stork’s Nest affair in which the prime minister is suspected of EU subsidy fraud. The opposition parties demanded an immediate explanation from the prime minister and called a vote of no-confidence in his government over the matter. The Supreme State Attorney’s Office said on Tuesday that it had ordered prosecutors in Prague to investigate suspicions that the son of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš may have been kidnapped. The Prime Minister denies the allegation and says his son is mentally ill.

• On 14th November the Government refused to participate in the United Nations Global Compact for Migration, Prime Minister confirmed on Wednesday morning. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying Czech priorities, such as differentiating between legal and illegal migrants, had not been included in the document.

• On the same day the Minister of Foreign Affairs Tomáš Petříček visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Tuesday accompanied by an Israel diplomat, drawing sharp criticism from a senior Palestinian official. Petříček met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, opened the 6th Czech-Israeli Forum and visited the “Czech House” in Jerusalem, which would be formally opened later this month by President Miloš Zeman.

• General Aleš Opata, Chief of General Staff, visited the 31st Regiment of Radiological, Chemical and Biological Protection based in Liberec. In 2020–2022 the unit is to be equiped with the new Light Multirole Vehicles (LMVs). The contract was signed in late August.

See Also: Czech Army’s Modernization Projects: Light Armoured Vehicles