PM'S ADVISER WANTS TO ABOLISH HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER (Czech Rep.)

Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas's future adviser Roman Joch will recommend to Necas that he abolish the Human Rights Commissioner Office that is headed by former human rights minister Michael Kocab, Joch said on Czech Radio Wednesday. He added he considers the office redundant. "The real commissioner for human rights is the constitution and therefore every judge is to be a human rights guarantor. We have the ombudsman, therefore having a kind of human rights tsar is an idea coming from the times of feudalism," Joch said. On the other hand, Joch said he would preserve the government's councils that deal with human rights because, he said, they solve real problems, therefore they are legitimate. Joch is to be Necas's human rights adviser. He said he does not know yet what pay he will have. He is to prepare analyses for bills that will be submitted to the government. About 100, mainly young people, protested against Joch working for the Government Office Wednesday. They said they consider his idea of human rights unfortunate. They recalled some of his previous statements, for instance, the one praising the late Chilean dictator August Pinochet. The demonstration was also joined by several of Joch's supporters who call him anti-Kocab.


Prague Monitor