On March 17, Trokavec village in the Czech Republic voted its opposition to a US radar base slated to be built in a nearby military zone as part of Washington's proposed "missile shield." Seventy-two out of 90 eligible voters in the village of 100 participated. All but one authorized the village council to take all legal steps possible to stop the radar base from being built. Trokavec residents say they fear the radar would emit harmful radiation, cause real-estate prices to fall and natives to flee the area. While the vote is not binding for anyone but the village council, the results reflect public opposition to the planned radar base, which the latest nationwide poll put at 70%. On March 14, the Czech parliament rejected by one vote a bill calling for a national plebiscite on the radar base. Green and Communist proponents of the referendum pledge to try again. (DPA, March 17; Eux TV, March 14)

See our last posts on Central Europe and the "missile shield."