Czech Chamber approves extension of police mission in Iraq

The Czech Chamber of Deputies approved Friday the extension of the Czech military police mission in Iraq until the end of the year, but the proposal still needs the support of the Senate before taking effect.

The Senate may vote on the extension on Jan. 27.

Out of the 181 deputies presented, 125 voted in favor and 46 were against it with the minimum number for its approval being 101.

The Czech military police officers have been training their Iraqi colleagues since early 2004. Originally, their mission was to end late last year, but the parliament extended it to the end of February 2005 because of the higher risks in the upcoming Iraqi general elections.

Britain and Iraq have asked Prague not to withdraw the instructors from Iraq after the late January polls. Therefore the Czech cabinet asked parliament to extend the mission's mandate.

The extension will cost 175 million crowns (about 7.45 million US dollars).

The Defense Ministry told the Chamber's defense committee on Wednesday that it plans to pay some 150 million crowns (about 6.4 million dollars) from its own resources. The rest will be covered by funds originally earmarked for the training of Iraqi armed forces in the Czech Republic, which will not take place this year following the extension.

The Czech police contingent, deployed at the British base Shaibah, will be part of the NATO Training Mission in Iraq.

Apart from the military policemen, a 10-member team of military surgeons will continue to work in Iraq this year.

Source: Xinhua