Two-time Olympic champion Lukáš Krpálek was to personally receive the Medal of Merit of the First Degree from President Miloš Zeman on Monday. Although he appreciates the award, he will not come to the ceremony.
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“I really appreciate the award of a state award. It’s an honor for me, probably the greatest it can be in a non-sporting life. Unfortunately, I have to apologize for Monday’s ceremony, “Krpálek answered the List of News question, whether he was going to the Castle.
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And reason? The gold medalist from Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo does not want to celebrate when his friends are at war. “I can’t imagine wearing a festive suit at a time when people are dying in Ukraine, athletes and my personal friends are fighting there in camouflage for their homeland. I have always been proud and happy to represent our country and I always will be, but I really wish that a sports duel was the only way to compete between states, “Krpálek explained.
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Jan Horník, Vice-President of the Senate (STAN), will not take part in the ceremony either. However, he chooses significantly sharper words than Krpálek.
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“At this time of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, I would consider my participation in this event to be the peak of distaste and perhaps even the loss of memory. I cannot imagine the situation if I became part of the award ceremony at the hands of the President, who, despite the current situation in Ukraine, continues to work with people directly connected to the Kremlin, such as Adviser Martin Nejedlý, who adores the Russian regime and its leader Putin. , and all this would take place under the flag of Ukraine at the Castle, “Horník told the News List.
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He added that in order to do so, “he would have to completely forget the president’s vassals, which he wanted to put our republic to Russia for a long time, which cannot be fooled by one statement that the president was wrong. This presidency is much more dangerous for our country than we have ever been able to admit. We lacked the courage to do so, and since we were not determined enough, then we cannot be surprised that such bloodsheds are occurring as we do now in Ukraine. “
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I cannot imagine the situation if I became part of the award ceremony at the hands of the President, who, despite the current situation in Ukraine, continues to work with people directly connected to the Kremlin, such as Adviser Martin Nejedlý, who adores the Russian regime and its leader Putin. .
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The fact that the president will present the state decoration on March 7, ie on the 172nd anniversary of the birth of the first Czechoslovak president Tomáš Garrique Masaryk, was announced by the Prague Castle office at the beginning of the year. That is, before the war. This week, the Castle announced that the President had decided to combine the Order’s Day with an expression of solidarity with Ukraine. “During the ceremonial change of guards at 12:00, the flag of Ukraine will be hoisted in the 1st courtyard of Prague Castle, the court of honor, and the Ukrainian and Czech anthems will be heard,” the Castle’s press release reads.
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The president is to present the awards for the years 2020 and 2021, when the ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic could not take place. Prague Castle expects 600 guests to come. The director of the castle protocol, Vladimír Kruliš, told ČTK. According to him, the podium should also be larger, because it will have twice the number of winners and it will be said that it will be adapted for President Miloš Zeman to be able to move on a wheelchair.
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But President Milos Zeman has been facing criticism in recent days for his policy toward Russia. A group of former Charter 77 signatories and other personalities called on him to abdicate in an open letter this week.
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I really appreciate the award of a state award. It’s an honor for me, probably the greatest it can be in a non-sporting life. Unfortunately, I have to apologize for Monday’s ceremony.
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“You and your closest colleagues have supported President Putin’s policy for too long, at whose behest the Russian military is committing crimes against humanity in Ukraine,” said former Prime Minister and Senate President Petr Pithart, former Ombudsman Anna Shabatova. sociologist and exhibitor Ivan Gabal or lyricist and former presidential candidate Michal Horáček. “You have one last and only way left: Apologize to the Ukrainian people, the Czech Republic and our allies and abdicate as soon as possible,” the authors of the letter call on Miloš Zeman.
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One of the signatories of the challenge, Zeman’s former rival in the presidential election, Michal Horáček, believes that the people of Zeman should not receive the award at this time. “At least people shouldn’t come there for awards, even if they definitely deserve it. Let them wait for the new president that year. I don’t know who wants it in the closet, an award that is questioned in this way, “says Horáček.
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And another of the authors of the open letter, sociologist Ivan Gabal, adds that even politicians should not go to the Castle. “When deputies and senators go there in a situation where innocent people are dying and fleeing hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers, whom Zeman has supported for years, they will take joint responsibility for his behavior and its consequences. This is completely indisputable, “he says, adding:” And the same actually applies to the moral responsibility of the people who take the award from him. We have seen how international diplomats in Geneva behaved towards the Russian Foreign Minister. I think Zeman is practically in the same position. “
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The list reports addressed several personalities who are to receive the award. One of them is the actress Jiřina Bohdalová, who is to receive the Order of the White Lion of the 1st class civic group. “I’m going to the Castle, yes,” Bohdalová said when asked. The question of whether President Zeman pursued a pro-Kremlin policy in the past did not consider accepting the award angered her. “Christ, you are all crazy! There is a war here and you are still going through some of your wars. It’s stupid. Everyone will understand that. I’m so upset that I won’t pick up the phones at all, “said Bohdalová.
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Former ambassador to Afghanistan Jiří Baloun and army colonel and system architect of Smart Quarantine Petr Šnajdárek also confirmed that they would come for the award.
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Politicians have so far let them know that the Prime Minister of the Pirates and Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Bartoš, who will be on a business trip to France on the day of the ceremony, and his party colleague, Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Olga Richterová, will not apologize.
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We have updated with Senator Horník’s statement.
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