Okamura: Prague’s decision to recognize Kosovo’s independence was a failure of Czech politicians at the time

The President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament, Tomio Okamura, assessed that Prague’s decision to recognize Kosovo’s independence was a failure of Czech politicians at the time, but that many of them later showed self-reflection and that former prime minister and president Milos Zeman apologized to Serbia, Euronews Serbia reports.

“I would not justify any pressure for such a decision, although it certainly existed. That mistake was largely a consequence of massive anti-Serbian propaganda at the time,” he told Politika.

Asked whether Serbia can count on concrete support from the Czech Republic on its European path, Okamura said he cannot speak on behalf of the entire government, but that he and his party, Freedom and Direct Democracy, have always been on Serbia’s side, including in the case of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 and what he described as the “illegitimate theft of Kosovo.”

“It is necessary to understand that the EU generally crushes small states,” Okamura said.

According to him, by the accession of Western Balkan countries to the EU, Slavic nations could gain a majority in the EU, but the fact is that the most powerful countries, today Germany and France, have and will continue to have excessive influence, and they control Brussels and will continue to do so.

“Serbia’s entry into the EU will not change anything, only your laws will change to suit their lobby. The West, through the Green Deal and Brussels directives and regulations, has disrupted our economy and taken it over. We have become an economic colony. The truth is, also due to the mistakes of our own politicians,” Okamura said.

He emphasized that this is a model present in every country dominated by the West and said that Serbia should consider whether it wants that.

The President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament also said that Belgrade and Prague already cooperate in many areas, including mechanical engineering and energy, but that there is development potential in the arms industry as well as in the film industry, and that it should also be noted that the Czech Republic is a specialist in building all types of power plants.

“In every sphere we can find untapped potential,” he concluded.