Czech president distances himself from Prague’s recognition of Kosovo
Czech President Vaclav Klaus distanced himself from the country’s government position to recognize Kosovo’s secession this week.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Friday, May 23, 2008
"The president was really surprised by this decision of the government. He was not informed about it in advance either. If he was a member of the government, he would have acted as did the ministers of the Christian-Democratic Union", Klaus' spokesman Petr Hayek said.
The ministers of the Christian-Democratic Union refused to vote on May 21 for the recognition of Kosovo's secession.
The Czech opposition also slammed the move, calling it a betrayal, and underlined that the government had not honored an agreement to seek to find a united Czech position on the issue.
Meanwhile, in Kosovo, Prague media reported that a Czech bus was pelted with stones by Kosovo Albanians.
Czech media reported that ethnic Albanian youngsters had thrown stones at a bus bearing Czech license plates near the town of Decan.
According to the reports, the bus was carrying a group of students from an organisation calling itself the Petition against Recognising Kosovo's Independence, and was bringing aid to Serbs living in Kosovo.
