Unknown person threatens to kill foreign minister over Cuba
(PDM staff with CTK) 10 November - An anonymous caller to the Foreign Ministry threatened to kill Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda and his family unless Svoboda stops pushing a hard line towards Cuba, the police said yesterday.
"I can confirm that we have received such information," police spokesman Jiri Vokus told CTK.
The Foreign Ministry said the anonymous phone call was registered by the police's operation centre. Ministry spokesman Vit Kolar told CTK that the police informed Svoboda on Monday.
"The minister informed his wife and children whom the threat immediately concerns. The police have assured the minister and family that they will work on the case and that they are ready to protect their lives," Kolar said.
Svoboda has four sons, all of whom are students. His wife is a physician.
Kolar added that Svoboda briefly talked about the threat with Interior Minister Frantisek Bublan.
The Czech Republic asserts a strong stance within the EU against the totalitarian regime of Cuba's Fidel Castro.
Czech-Cuban relations have been tense every since the end of communism in Czechoslovakia 16 years ago.
Tensions came to a new head on October 28 when the Czech embassy in Havana wanted to stage a celebration of the Czech national holiday in a luxury Havana hotel with the participation of Cuban dissidents.
The Cuban authorities banned the celebration, which eventually took place in the Czech charge d'affaires' residence.
The Czech Foreign Ministry sharply protested against the ban in a diplomatic note, handed to Cuban charge d'affaires Aymee Hernandez a week ago.
CTK news edited by the staff of the Prague Daily Monitor, a Monitor CE service.
No comments:
Post a Comment