Prague, July 28 (CTK) – Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka yesterday criticised President Milos Zeman for appealing to the lowest instincts and being instrumental in spreading hatred of refugees.
The Presidential Office spokesman Jiri Ovcacek said Tuesday Zeman regretted that the Czech government failed to find finances to cover the operation of Klokanek, indebted facilities for children in need, although the sums spent on aid to immigrants would be much higher.
“I believe that a statesman such as Zeman has no reason to try to appeal to the worst instincts and assist in the spreading of hatred of refugees,” Sobotka told CTK.
Zeman knows well that the Klokanek case has nothing to do with the Czech participation in dealing with the biggest refugee crisis since the end of World War Two, Sobotka pointed out.
The Klokanek facilities got in huge debts due to its former management, he said.
The Czech government will be dealing with the current serious issues in a realistic, not populistic way, Sobotka said.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Ovcacek said Zeman insists on his view that the Czech Republic should accept refugees from culturally close regions.
Previously, Zeman spoke of immigrants from Ukraine and later he added that he considered Syrian Christians culturally close.
Ovcacek said Zeman was surprised to see that the Czech Republic plans to accept 1500 migrants, while the much larger Poland is going to accept 2000.
Sobotka’s government will be discussing on Wednesday whether to grant a subsidy of 30 million crowns to the Klokanek facilities, run by the Fund for Children in Need (FOD).
Finance Minister Andrej Babis (ANO) proposed that FOD be granted the subsidy, but Labour Minister Michaela Marksova (CSSD) was against it. The debts of FOD have reached 127 million crowns.
