ČSSD slams Kalousek for equating charges against Parkanová with attack on democracy

Prague, June 25 (CTK) - PM Petr Necas and the justice and interior ministers should react to Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek's words that the Czech police enquiry into the CASA deal is an attack on the country's democratic system, opposition Social Democrat (CSSD) head Bohuslav Sobotka said yesterday.

If Necas (Civic Democrats, ODS) kept silent, he may be suspected of siding with Kalousek and also disliking the police's investigation into the possibly overpriced purchase of the CASA military transport planes, Sobotka has written to the media.

Necas reacted saying the CSSD's appeal on him is "hypocrisy."

Kalousek (TOP 09) said on Czech Television on Sunday that the accusation levelled against former defence minister Vlasta Parkanova (TOP 09) over the CASA deal amounts to a police attack on the state's decision making mechanisms and democratic system.

He also defended Parkanova, now MP whom the police want to be released for prosecution, earlier last week.

"The CSSD views the situation where a significant member of the cabinet has accused the police of unlawful conduct and undemocratic activities as very serious," Sobotka said.

Necas pointed out that quite recently the CSSD spoke about a political order for ousting a burdensome opposition politician in connection with the corruption accusations levelled against former CSSD regional governor David Rath.

"That is why the CSSD's reservations about the cases of others amount to hypocrisy. On the other hand, I don't think that the emergence of a police state threatens over the different legal opinions on one affair," Necas said.

Sobotka said a large part of people can understand Kalousek's words as an attack on the police's independent work and also as a sign indicating that the police do not work objectively and may even be working expediently, on someone's order.

He recalled that the CSSD criticised the purchase of the four CASAs by the then government of Mirek Topolanek (ODS) in 2009 and that it challenged the unusual procedures accompanying the deal.

"That is why we've welcomed the police's [recent] initiative aimed to clear up the affair, and we consider it unacceptable for the police to be openly accused, without any clear pieces of evidence, and possibly even intimidated by any member of the Necas cabinet," Sobotka said.

If Parkanova or Kalousek want to challenge the course of the investigation, they can turn to the supervising state attorney and to the security forces' general inspection, Sobotka continued.

In view of TOP 09's repeated attempts to have the case politicised, the only reasonable solution is that the Chamber of Deputies release Parkanova for prosecution so that she can defend herself before independent court, Sobotka added.