Kalousek, Slouf entangled in Czech Gripen case - Paroubek

Kalousek sharply rejected the accusation. He called on Paroubek to either prove his statements or apologise to him. Otherwise Paroubek "would be a blatant liar," Kalousek added.

Paroubek also criticised the Civic Democrats (ODS) for having shunned a discussion on the Gripen case in the Chamber of Deputies though they submitted the issue.

Apart from Kalousek and Slouf, Paroubek mentioned links leading to Richard Hava, co-owner of the Omnipol company, in the Gripen affair.

He also called the three men political allies of the Civic Democrats (ODS), the CSSD's arch-rival.

Paroubek stressed he had not occupied a top political post during the Gripen case.

"I must categorically reject such a rude and absolutely unsubstantiated accusation. It can only indicate whom Mr Paroubek considers his biggest competitor in the elections," Kalousek said in reaction to Paroubek´s words.

He said he could not influence the tender for the fighters since he was not a member of the CSSD governments headed by Zeman (1998-2002) and by Vladimir Spidla (PM in 2002-2004), and that he did not participate in the decision-making on the Gripens´ purchase either.

Kalousek occupied the post of deputy defence minister for economy in 1997 when the government approved a new military concept, including the replacement of the ageing Soviet-made MiGs by new fighters. A year later he left the Defence Ministry.

ODS chairman Mirek Topolanek on Wednesday called on Interior Minister Martin Pecina to initiate a check of the Jas-39 Gripen fighters supply to the Czech military.

Pecina should take the results of Britain's recent investigation into account, Topolanek said.

The British anti-corruption office last week filed charges of corruption accompanying the sale of Gripens to the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria against Austrian dealer Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly, former agent of the British arms maker BAE.

The Czech Republic originally planned to purchase the fighters.

The contract of purchase was approved by the CSSD cabinet of Zeman, then CSSD chairman, in April 2002.Its cost was put at 60.2 billion crowns. Slouf was then heading the team of Zeman´s advisers. However, the purchase was not approved by parliament.

After the disastrous floods in summer 2002, Spidla's cabinet dropped the purchase plan.

The Czech Republic in the end leased 14 Gripens from Sweden for 19.6 billion crowns. The contract was signed in 2004. It will expire in 2014.

The CSSD on Wednesday rejected any connection of its current representatives with the Gripen case.

In 2007 the Swedish TV showed hidden-camera shots of Jan Kavan (CSSD), then foreign minister in Zeman´s cabinet who said that a number of high-ranking Czech politicians had taken bribes in connection with the Gripen deal. Later he denied the words.

According to a Swedish TV report, BAE hired mediators who were to secure the Czech representatives´ consent with the Gripen purchase via bribes for which they received high sums. Among the mediators were Mensdorff-Poilly and Hava.

Czech media in the past speculated that Slouf had played a certain role in the Gripen case.

The Social Democrats accused the ODS of having submitted the Gripen case only to delay Chamber of Deputies session and prevent the CSSD-proposed bills' approval.

The Czech anti-corruption police investigated the alleged bribery accompanying the Gripens supply twice, but the case was shelved in the end, the most recently in late-2009.

At present attorneys from the Supreme State Attorney's Office are dealing with the case.

($1=18.613 crowns)

Author: ČTK
www.ctk.cz