Lower House of Czech Parliament Recognises Russian Regime as Terrorist

Wednesday, 16 November 2022

The Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic has approved a resolution that calls the current Russian government a terrorist regime.

One of the resolution’s provisions "defines the current Russian regime as a terrorist one, according to the resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe," reports Czech news outlet Novinky.

The document condemns the sham referendums that Russia held in the occupied territories to legitimise their "accession" to the Russian Federation and Russia’s systematic missile attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. 

129 out of 156 members of parliament voted for the resolution, which was supported across the political spectrum, except for right-wing Eurosceptics from the SPD (Freedom and Direct Democracy) party and individual members of parliament from other factions. 

"Vladimir Putin and people controlled by him started the war. They have the blood of thousands of civilians on their hands. The Kremlin's actions are reminiscent of the darkest days of Stalin’s era," Olga Richterová, Deputy Spokesperson for the Chamber of Deputies, stated during the debate.

"If someone behaves like a terrorist, he is a terrorist. Putin is waging war against Ukraine, and Russia does not shy away from killing innocent people there," Jan Jakob, the head of TOP 09 faction, said. 

Some members of the opposition faction of ANO, the party led by former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, also supported the resolution. "We have all seen the atrocities that the Russian army has committed in Ukraine… The only purpose of these actions is to break the spirit of Ukrainians. We agree with the resolution; it is fair," said Member of Parliament Jaroslav Bžoš. 

On 13 October, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) unanimously adopted a resolution which called the Russian Federation a terrorist regime. The resolution also contained an amendment calling for the provision of more air defence systems to Ukraine. PACE was the first international organisation to recognise Russia as a terrorist state. 

Similar resolutions were later adopted by the Polish Sejm and the Estonian Riigikogu, and by Latvia’s Saeima in August.

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