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Wednesday, January 26, 2000
Prague tightens restrictions on so-called 'problem countries' By Jeffrey Donovan Russia, Bulgaria and Baltic countries Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania all filed diplomatic protests in mid-January against the new law, which has caused chaos and delays at Czech borders since it took effect on Jan. 1. The law technically forces all foreigners entering the country to fill out forms, provide photographs and give proof of health insurance, accommodation and funds to cover their stay in the Czech Republic. The government also is discussing plans to introduce visa requirements for visitors from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. For now, border police have reportedly been instructed to apply the checks only to visitors from "problem countries" such as Russia and Ukraine, not to travelers from the United States, the European Union and other affluent countries such as Canada, Switzerland and Japan. Frontier chaos "On the borders there is chaos, confusion and sometimes bad will from the police," said Igor Nikitin, spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Prague. "Not only are our citizens having trouble getting into the Czech Republic, they are being humiliated by the police's behavior. Everything now depends on the whims and mood of the police." In its protest to the Czech Republic, Russia asked that the introduction of the new law be postponed until March 1 to give its citizens time to adjust their travel plans to the new requirements. Estonia has complained that the red tape presented by the law amounts to a violation of the visa-free travel agreement between the two countries. Moscow said it would consider imposing similar restrictions on Czech visitors to Russia. "In diplomacy, there is a rule that any new steps [from one side] cause an adequate reaction [from the other]," Nikitin said. "This is simply the rule of reciprocation." For now, the Czech government appears unlikely to satisfy Russia's request. "The law cannot be based on exceptions, therefore I am skeptical that we can meet the Russians' request," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ales Pospisil was quoted as telling Czech daily Lidove noviny on Jan. 20. No ministry official was immediately available for comment. The row is the latest incident in a growing wave of ill-will between Moscow and its onetime satellite Prague, which passed the new law to meet EU immigration standards for aspiring members states. In December, Interior Minister Vaclav Grulich announced a plan to deport illegal residents from Russia, Ukraine and elsewhere in specially sealed trains back to their countries. "[Such a comment] brings back some historical memories," said Nikitin, who could not estimate how many of the 10,000 Russians in the Czech Republic were illegal residents. Jeffrey Donovan's email address is jdonovan@praguepost.cz
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