MPs again adjourn church property return bill

Prague, Sept 18 (CTK) - The Czech Chamber of Deputies again adjourned the vote on a bill on return of property to churches that the left-dominated Senate rejected until the next session yesterday.

To override the Senate veto, the government Civic Democrats (ODS) and TOP 09 would need the votes of the third government entity, LIDEM of Deputy Prime Minister Karolina Peake, that wants the package of tax changes to be passed first.

The church restitution bill was adjourned at the first September session already.

The package of tax changes and other measures, aims to stabilise public budgets. It was rejected at the first September session of the lower house of parliament by the votes of six ODS deputies who disagree with it.

Prime Minister Petr Necas (ODS) submitted the package to the government again afterwards and sent to the lower house. He ties the new vote on the bill with a vote of confidence in his government.

The package is again on the agenda of the session that started yesterday.

Bohuslav Sobotka, chairman of the opposition Social Democrats (CSSD) called on the government again yesterday and asked it to withdraw the bill on state-church property settlement and submit a "juster" version.

Communist (KSCM) chairman Pavel Kovacik said some 36,000 people signed a petition against church restitution that the party handed to the Chamber of Deputies yesterday.

Under the government bill, Czech churches are to be returned land and real estate that was confiscated from them by the communists and that is now held by the state. The properties to be returned are worth some 75 billion crowns.

The churches would have to prove that they are entitled to the property and that it was confiscated from them between February 25, 1948, the day of the Communist coup in then Czechoslovakia, and January 1, 1990, following the fall of the communist regime.

Besides, the churches would get 59 billion crowns for real estate held by municipalities, regions or individuals over a period of 30 years, which is two billion crowns annually. Inflation could raise the total sum up to 96 billion crowns.

Critics say the compensation was overestimated by up to 54 billion crowns and the opposition has questioned the extent of the property to be returned.

President Vaclav Klaus demands the guarantee that the limit of February 25, 1948, the day of the Communist coup, should not be crossed.

($1=18.719 crowns)