Communists Slam Babis For Backing Attack On Damascus

andrej Babis

Prague, April 15 (CTK) – The Communists (KSCM) resent it that Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and other ministers for ANO backed the Saturday night attack of the USA, Britain and France in Syria, KSCM deputy chairman Josef Skala told the Prima television station today.

 

The Communist want to open the issue in the talks on the tolerance of the government with ANO, Skala said.

 

A Communist hard-liner, Skala is one of the candidates for the post of party leader at its forthcoming congress.

 

Skala said the Communists would want to know whether the government was ready to take similar steps in the future, too.

 

The air strike violated the Washington Treaty, the constituent document of NATO, Skala said.

 

“The aggression against Syria must be a big issue in the talks with ANO. In addition, it is already its third step in this direction,” Skala said.

 

“We would be satisfied if Babis pledged to be guided by the Washington Treaty whose first article says military force can only be used in the case of an external attack or on the basis of a decision by the U.N. Security Council,” Skala said.

 

“This time, it was violated brutally,” he added.

 

Skala said if Babis does not pledge to do so, he would have a big problem when deciding to support the government.

 

The Chamber of Deputies chairman, Radek Vondracek (ANO), told Czech Television that the KSCM adopted positive attitudes to the Russian diplomacy.

 

“No one can harbour the suspicion that we are happy at the escalation and worsening of relations with Russia. However, we are allies in NATO. Sometimes it must be put clearly that we are allies and that we must keep together,” Vondracek said.

 

Babis said on Saturday the air strike in Syria was unavoidable.

 

Foreign Minister Martin Stropnicky (ANO) said it was necessary to show that the use of chemical arms was inadmissible.

 

Radim Fiala, a deputy chairman of the anti-EU Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), told Czech Television that the attitude of the government to the Syrian air strike would not affect the talks on the government cooperation.

 

Fiala said that if the SPD were a part of the government, its ministers would vote against the government approving of such incidents.