Czech Public Affairs wants police president to resign
Baku, December 23 (AZERTAC). The affair around outgoing Czech Environment Minister Pavel Drobil is a government crisis and the junior ruling Public Affairs (VV) wants Police President Oldrich Martinu to resign over his role in it, VV deputy group head Kristyna Koci told public Czech Television (CT) yesterday.
At the meeting of the coalition leaders (K9) this afternoon, the VV will demand the immediate departure of Martinu over his meeting with Prime Minister Petr Necas (Civic Democrats, ODS) on Friday, Koci said.
President Vaclav Klaus, on the contrary, said yesterday he did not consider the current scandal a crisis of the centre-right coalition cabinet of the ODS, TOP 09 and VV.
Aides to Drobil (ODS) are suspected of having asked for manipulations with the orders at the State Environmental Fund (SFZP) to gain money for funding the ODS and Drobil`s career.
TOP 09 deputy group head said the Martinu-Necas meeting was "not standard." A number of questions must be answered in the Drobil case, Gazdik added in the TV debate.
According to the Euro.cz server, VV chairman and Interior Minister John criticized Martinu for having bypassed him and having given Necas information from the investigation into the case in which Necas was to be questioned as a witness. The police inspection is to investigate the meeting at John`s initiative.
Martinu allegedly told Necas that John figured in the case.
"We, the Public Affairs, face an immense dilemma. On the one hand, there is a 118-seat majority (that the cabinet enjoys in the 200-seat Chamber of Deputies), and consequently a big chance of changing things in the Czech Republic, starting reforms as voters expected from us. On the other hand, there is the government that unfortunately cannot call itself an anti-corruption cabinet any more now," Koci told CT.
The VV doubts that the cabinet has a chance of purging itself, she indicated.
The scandal arouse after it surfaced that Michalek was secretly recording his talks with Drobil and his adviser Martin Knetig who allegedly was pressing on Michalek to manipulate with public orders at the SFZP to gain money for funding the ODS and Drobil`s career.
Drobil first dismissed SFZP head Michalek over the alleged corruption, and then he resigned himself.
ODS deputy group head Petr Tluchor said in the TV debate yesterday that he would like to hear information about John`s steps in the case.
Tluchor added that Drobil`s affair must be clarified at the coalition meeting, possible suspicions should be refuted and if law were violated, the police should investigate it properly.
Other news in this section
