When US President Barack Obama receives the hundredth message on his famous BarackBerry saying something along the lines of “I am a Czech citizen, and I don’t want the radar”, it will not be due to a technical malfunction.
The radar issue may have been put on hold in the Czech parliament, but its opponents are as active as ever. What’s more, they’re moving with the times. On their website, anti-radar activists have prepared a protest letter that anyone can click on and send directly to the White House.
“Obama is now the president. Write to him and say that we DON’T WANT the radar here,” says a banner on the anti-radar website, complete with a smiling photograph of the new US president.
“In my country, your victory in the US presidential elections has also given rise to great hopes for a better world. However, the installation of the anti-missile (in reality, Star Wars) radar in the Czech Republic would be a step in the opposite direction,” says the electronic letter. To join the petition, all you need to do is give your email address, and the letter is ready to be sent to Washington.
The website’s counter shows that so far just under a hundred of these protest emails have been sent.
“The letter will be redirected to a form on the US government’s official website. It was the best connection we were able to get,” says Jana Glivická, one of the leaders of the No to Bases group. So far, the group has not received any response from Washington.
But the activists need not feel ignored. The Czech government, the new American administration’s partner on this matter, has not yet received any messages either.
“It seems that Obama will want, at the very least, to re-evaluate the radar project, so we don’t want to miss any opportunities,” says Glivická and other radar opponents.
Their strategy might not be so bad. Obama has promised his fellow US citizens – perhaps with some hyperbole – that anyone will be able to reach him on his mobile phone, or via email.
Czech citizens can write in a similar way to Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek, using the www.panepremiere.cz website. And not just about the radar. They can write about anything. If five people agree on a joint question, the email is forwarded to a government email, where the prime minister is supposed to read it.
The most recent question was posted on the website just a few days ago, however, the last time Topolánek posted a response was in March 2008.
