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Czechs wary of U.S. missile system
By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer

As Russia's opposition to a U.S. missile shield in Europe mounts, President Bush on Tuesday heard from Czech leaders about having part of it based in their country.
Most Czechs aren't happy about the proposal for a U.S. anti-missile radar base to be built at the Brdy military zone southwest of the capital. Recent polls in this former Soviet satellite, now a democratic NATO ally, show more than 60 percent of the public in opposition.
Bush, on an eight-day trip to Europe, was treated Tuesday to an arrival ceremony at the Prague Castle courtyard. A military band played anthems as troops in pale-blue uniforms marched in formation.
In this stately old European capital, Bush then began meetings with Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek and President Vaclev Klaus.
The White House has billed a speech Bush will deliver on democracy at Czernin Palace as the highlight of his visit here. His Czech counterparts have complaints with Washington to discuss, such as a two-tiered visa system for European nations that leaves their citizens out in the cold.
However, the international debate over the missile defense system likely will drown out everything else during Bush's stay in Prague.
For their part, Czech leaders have brushed off Russia's objections, remaining receptive to the project. Topolanek called it "a necessary step which will significantly increase our security and also the security of our European allies and neighbors."
Most Czech citizens, though, worry about Russian threats to embark on a new arms race in response, and they fear that the installation could make the tiny country a terrorist target.
In Prague last weekend, more than 1,000 people protested the plan. Demonstrators planned to show their displeasure again Tuesday outside medieval Prague Castle.
Over the weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin stepped up already incendiary remarks about the U.S. and its intentions with the shield, warning that Moscow could take "retaliatory steps" including aiming nuclear weapons at U.S. military bases in Europe. Russia believes the shield in Eastern Europe is meant for it, and says it has no choice to boost its own military potential in response.
Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, called this sort of talk "not helpful."
Still, he, the president and other U.S. officials have sought to cool down the situation — to no avail. They insist the network is meant to protect NATO allies against a missile launch from Iran, not Russia.
The president's speech in Prague could stoke the fires further.
As part of taking stock of "the freedom agenda," Bush plans to mention Russia as a difficult area, Hadley told reporters traveling Monday with Bush to Europe on Air Force One.
"He'll talk a little bit about the challenge of promoting democracy in countries, big countries in particular, where we have a complex relationship and a number of interests, places like China and Russia," Hadley said.
He said the speech was not aimed at Russia, and that Bush would handle that bit of it "in a very responsible way."
Still, the remarks were not likely to be well-received by Putin, with whom Bush was scheduled to meet two days later in Germany on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit.
With the Iraq war raging and that country in disarray, some criticized Bush's effort to refocus attention on his "freedom agenda" — the byproduct of the president's promise to predicate U.S. relations with all nations on their treatment of their citizens and to advance democracy in every corner of the globe.
"The reality is the initiative is in disarray," said Grant Aldonas, an international business scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former Commerce Department undersecretary in Bush's first term. "Following the outcome of Iraq postwar, when you travel the world, people react with cynicism when you talk about freedom and democracy at this point."
Bush's message is typically better received in small, newer democracies. The Czech Republic, for instance, has deployed troops to help support the U.S.-led campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Bush was invited to make the speech as part of a conference on democracy hosted by Natan Sharansky, a former prisoner of the Soviet regime who has continued to champion freedom, and former Czech President Vaclav Havel, who led the Velvet Revolution that ended communism in the former Czechoslovakia in 1989. The president also plans to meet with current and former dissidents from around the world.
From Prague, Bush was to travel to Germany's Baltic Sea resort town of Heiligendamm for three days of meetings between the leaders of the world's eight major industrialized democracies. The rest of his eight-day European trip was to include a stop in Poland — also a proposed site for part of the missile defense system — as well as visits to Italy, Albania and Bulgaria.
(This version CORRECTS location of Bush speech as Czernin Palace))

TODAY'S TOP STORY

We are with you, Anthony tells Bogollagama
India to help Lanka in air battles

SINGAPORE: The "rise of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) air power in Sri Lanka is of concern to India also." Emphasising this, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said in Singapore on Sunday that India "will give Sri Lanka reasonable support for that." source: The Island lk 050607 India to develop KKS harbour, coordinate naval patrols
[TamilNet, Monday, 04 June 2007, 18:48 GMT] The Indian Government is to resume expansion of the Kankesanthurai harbour in the Jaffna peninsula following the Sri Lankan government informing Delhi that the security situation in the area had “improved considerably,” press reports said Monday. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told the Indian government that the development of the harbour to its full potential will facilitate the transport of supplies to the Jaffna Peninsula, including directly from India. The move comes as Sri Lanka announced ‘coordinate naval patrolling’ with India’s navy. Mr. Bogollagama also met recently with Britain’s Minister for Armed Forces, Adam Ingram, the reports said.
India had said it would continue to strengthen Sri Lanka’s air defence capability and expressed readiness to accede to the island’s request to conduct coordinated patrols of the maritime boundary between two countries’ in the Palk Straits, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry was quoted as saying Sunday.
“Modalities for this deployment will be worked out between the two sides,” the Ministry said.
The agreements on coordinated patrolling and expansion of the KKS harbour were announced following a meeting between Mr. Bogollagama and Indian Defence Minister A.K. Anthony on the sidelines of the 6th Annual IISS Asian Security Summit in Singapore.
Mr. Bogollagama had also met Mr. Ingram the Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry said.
Mr. Ingram had appreciated the efforts being made by the Government to counter the terrorist threat posed by the LTTE, it said.
Referring to the recent British House of Commons debate on Sri Lanka, Minister Bogollagama told the British Minister that regrettably many who spoke failed to appreciate the complexities of the Sri Lankan situation and that it had not been taken cognizance of by most Members. Minister Ingram said he would personally appraise Members of Sri Lanka’s perspective on the issue, and urged that the Sri Lankan Government did so as well.

Lanka Army chief seeks new truce with LTTE Colombo,
June. 4 (PTI):

Sri Lanka's army chief has said the five year-old Norwegian-brokered ceasefire between the government and the LTTE was "not functioning" on the ground and demanded a new truce with imposition of strict conditions on the Tamil rebels.
"At the moment the CFA (Ceasefire Agreement) is not functioning, because fighting is going on," Lt General Sarath Finseka said in an interview published today in the state-run Daily News.
His remarks came even as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam smashed an entire army defence line resulting in heavy losses on both sides.
"There is no ceasefire today, there is fighting," Fonseka has said.
"From the date the ceasefire agreement was signed, we tried our best to live with the ceasefire and uphold it. But when they (LTTE) started attacking us starting from Mavilaru, Sampur and Muhamalai then we cannot think of the ceasefire agreement and get attacked and lose our lives and property. We had to counter attack," he told the paper.
He said there should be a fresh ceasefire agreement with new conditions.
"The Government might lay down some conditions so that the LTTE can't take advantage like bringing weapons, killing the opponents, consolidating their military defences; they should not do these types of things during ceasefire," Fonseka said.
His remarks came in the backdrop of Sri Lanka's foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollegama saying in Singapore that the government was not contemplating vacating the February 2002 truce.


Global support to combat LTTE terror Tremendous solidarity with Lanka at Asian Security Summit :

SINGAPORE: Countries attending the Asian Security Summit here have assured increased assistance to Sri Lanka for combating LTTE terrorism, including intelligence sharing.
The Forum attended by defence ministers and military commanders, appreciated the challenge faced by Sri Lanka in countering LTTE terrorism and agreed that they would further strengthen cooperation between their Governments and the Sri Lanka Government, the Foreign Ministry said.
In a meeting with US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama briefed him on the current level of security threat posed by the LTTE and the manner in which the Sri Lankan Government proposed to meet this threat. Besides enhancing maritime counter measures, Sri Lanka was also seeking to more effectively counter the recent threat posed due to LTTE air capability, he elaborated.
Following meetings with Indian Defence Minister A. K. Anthony and British Minister for Armed Forces Adam Ingram on Saturday morning, Minister Rohitha Bogollagama and the Sri Lanka delegation held a series of bilateral meetings over the weekend on the sidelines of the Security Summit.
Associated with the Minister were Foreign Secretary Dr. Palitha Kohona, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Chief of Staff Air Chief Marshall Donald Perera.
In separate meetings with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Cambodia Gen. Tea Banh, Indonesian Defence Minister Prof. Gen. Juwono Sudarsano, Secretary of Defence of Thailand Gen. Winai Pattiyakul, Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army Lt. Gen. Nguyen Duc Soat, and Myanmar's Maung Myint, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the illicit use of the territories of these countries by the LTTE, particularly for purposes of arms smuggling and money laundering, was discussed in detail.
These leaders assured the Foreign Minister that they would be more vigilant and not permit their territories to be used in any manner by the LTTE. In separate meetings with Deputy Chief of General Staff of the People's Liberation Army of China Lt. Gen. Zhen Quinsheng, and Chief of Staff of Pakistan Gen. Ul Haq, Bogollagama briefed them on current security developments in Sri Lanka.
They agreed to enhance cooperation and to share intelligence with a view to defeating terrorism.
In separate meetings with the Head of the Delegation of France, Secretary of the Ministry of Defence Francis Delon, and the Permanent Secretary, British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Sir Peter Ricketts, Foreign Secretary Dr. Kohona discussed Sri Lanka's concerns regarding LTTE fund raising, human smuggling and propaganda operations in those countries, as well as in the broader European context.
The Foreign Secretary appreciated the action taken in France and the UK in recent months to effectively counter LTTE fund raising that takes place through intimidation and extortion. He also explained the political proposals being developed to end the present conflict through the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) process.
Dr. Kohona also met Foreign Secretary of Singapore Peter Ho for a follow up discussion, pursuant to earlier meetings with Foreign Minister and Foreign Secretary had with the Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo and Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean.
They emphasised the need for particularly greater cooperation between the intelligence services of both countries.
Bogollagama and the delegation also held separate meetings with the former US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and former Minister of State in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and presently Member of Parliament shadow defence secretary Liam Fox.
The Minister appreciated the initiatives taken by Armitage and Fox in seeking to help end the conflict in Sri Lanka.
The delegation briefed them both on current developments in combating LTTE terrorism and in seeking to evolve a lasting political settlement to the present conflict.