Prague, June 21 (CTK) – Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (Social Democrats, CSSD) rejects the effort to get the National Security Council (BRS) involved in open cases under police investigation, he told CTK yesterday, adding that it is not the BRS’s role to substitute police enquiries.
Police enquiries must be conducted based on methods defined by law, Sobotka said.
He said the BRS cannot be convoked expediently, which is why it will meet in July, in accordance with the regular schedule.
The convoking of a BRS meeting has been requested by the CSSD’s government partners, ANO and the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL), in connection with the recent intra-government dispute over a police reform prepared by Police President Tomas Tuhy, backed by Interior Minister Milan Chovanec (CSSD) and strongly opposed by ANO as unprepared, suspicious and counterproductive.
ANO chairman Andrej Babis, who is deputy PM and finance minister, called on Sobotka to convoke the BRS in a letter yesterday. Before, Sobotka adjourned the next BRS meeting from June 22 to July 20.
President Milos Zeman has not ruled out his participation in the meeting.
Sobotka said the misuse of police in political struggle is inadmissible.
“The CSSD categorically rejects the war for the seizure of political control over the police and the halt to changes aimed to make the police work more effective,” Sobotka said.
He said he expects Chovanec to inform the cabinet about the development of the police overhaul project in writing by the end of June.
Sobotka emphasised that the restructuring of the police is fully within the power of Chovanec and Tuhy.
“Political interferences in the affair are inadmissible as is [its misuse] in political campaigning. Such conduct is dangerous and it seriously undermines the Czech police’s independence,” Sobotka said.
On Thursday, the lower house security committee is to meet to discuss the conflict between the CSSD and ANO movement over the planned merger of the police organised crime (UOOZ) and financial crime (UOKFK) squads.
UOOZ officers say the police reform’s main goal is to disperse the UOOZ.
Outgoing UOOZ head Robert Slachta and UOOZ regional chief Jiri Komarek said on Monday they want to inform the committee members about suspected links between police and the criminal scene and about a serious leak of information on the part of Tuhy. In the meantime, Tuhy has filed a complaint against Komarek on suspicion of slander and other crimes.
Sobotka said the law does not allow for criminal cases to be discussed by the lower house security committee or the BRS.
Moreover, the cabinet will hold a meeting on June 22, and afterwards the Coalition Council will meet. No time will remain for the BRS to meet on June 22, Sobotka said.
He said ANO’s behaviour is reminiscent of the Civic Democrats (ODS) in 2006, and the current situation reminds of the then Kubice report affair.
“Pressure has even been exerted by the same police squad (UOOZ) which entered the political struggle ten years ago, when a mixture of disinformation expediently leaked to the public and considerably afflicted the course of the general election and the competition of political parties,” Sobotka told CTK in a press statement.
Ten years ago, the “Kubice report” caused turmoil on the Czech political scene. The report submitted to lawmakers by then UOOZ head Jan Kubice warned of intensifying influence of organised crime in the Czech Republic.
As part of the classified report leaked to the media shortly before the mid-2006 general election, the report caused annoyance mainly among the government CSSD.
Kubice later became interior minister in the next government formed by the CSSD’s election-winning arch-rival ODS.
