Prague, Jan 18 (CTK) – The Czech mother of a nine-month-old girl, who has been taken away from her by the Norwegian child welfare service Barnevernet, has declined the Czech state’s offer to help her negotiate with Oslo about the baby’s return to her, Czech Social Affairs Minister Michaela Marksova said yesterday.
Marksova (Social Democrats, CSSD) said she considers the way the mother presents the affair in the media rather unfortunate.
“We have offered the mother to negotiate with Barnevernet on her behalf or together with her, but she has not accepted our offer. Without the parent wishing for the state to intervene, we can really do only minimum,” Marksova told journalists after a cabinet meeting.
She said the mother has not told the ministry why she has declined Prague’s help.
“She turned to the ministry in mid-November, sending in a part of documents related to her case and a description of the situation,” Marksova said.
Afterwards, however, the mother did not react to the offer of help. As a result, she fails to use the main legal chance the Czech state has, Marksova said.
Marksova said she cannot disclose details about the case.
The girl´s mother has asked the ministry not to comment on the case in the media. At the same time, however, she was granting interviews to media, Marksova said.
She also reacted to President Milos Zeman’s words that the Czech Republic should recall its ambassador in Norway for consultations over this case of another baby taken from a Czech mother in Norway, after two Michalak boys whose return has been unsuccessfully sought by their mother since 2011.
Unlike the girl´s mother, Eva Michalakova has not declined the Czech state’s offer of help.
“I think recalling the ambassador is nonsense. On the contrary, we are trying to negotiate with Norway,” Marksova said.
The baby girl suffers from a congenital defect and is waiting for a kidney transplant. Barnevernet took her away from her parents, Czech mother and Norwegian father, several weeks ago. The parents can see her twice a week for an hour.
The mother told the Czech daily Lidove noviny (LN) that Barnevernet explained the step saying that the parents’ contact with the daughter had not been developed enough and their relation to her was bad.
rtj/dr/kva
