Subject: NATO radar site at the Peace Monument on the Austerlitz Battlefield
Importance: High
Permanent Delegation of the Czech Republic to the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization and the Western European Union,
NATO HQ
Boulevard Léopold III.
1110 Brussels
Belgium
Mr.
Karel Kovanda
Permanent Delegation of the Czech Republic to the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization and the European Union,
and members of this mission
Brno, September 4th 2003
Dear Sirs,
I would be very interested to learn your opinion on the fact that somebody of your colleagues has the intent to place the construction of the core NATO radar site in the Austerlitz Battlefield zone preserved by the regulation of the Ministry of Culture Nr. 475/1992 digest from September 10th 1992. I consider it as the desecration of the place of piety and the brute corruption of the landscape character if the new dominant in the form of the silver sphere more 28 m high and wide is supposed to be erected on the horizon, techni-cally next to the Peace Monument, the monument of the battle of Austerlitz remembering thousands of the fallen. It’s scarcely conceivable that such object could be ever built nearby monuments at Waterloo, Wagram, Leipzig or Borodino. I speak to you on behalf of the pub-licly beneficial society Mohyla míru – Austerlitz o. p. s. (Peace Monument – Austerlitz o. p. s.) associating 20 local communities, of the organizers of the annual commemorations events of the battle of Austerlitz and finally of thousands of the Napoleonic re-enactors from around the Europe.
Who is responsible for headlong investments of tens of millions of crowns into the former anti-aircraft defence site without the permission of the communities and the public? Negative reactions against the intended construction are coming not only from our country but from the whole world and concerning the 200th anniversary of the battle of Austerlitz in 2005 with promised presence of the numerous representatives of many European diplomatic corps we are facing the possible juicy situation if all the guests and tens of thousands of visitors would have to “admire” the new dominant feature standing just 300 m from the place of memory, the monument of the fallen.
The Proclamation of Austerlitz of the president of the Central European Napoleonic Society (C. E. N. S.) is already spreading throughout the Europe and the responses incoming are defi-nite. Dear Sirs, believe me that with this premature step the unfair-led territorial proceedings are turning against the investor. There’s a conflict starting between us – the citizens – and the investor who wasn’t able to present his intentions in advance. We have nothing against the construction of such an important defence element on the territory of our state but we will definitely fight using all the instruments against the intent to place the construction on the Pratzen Heights. I’m fully confident that this decision was erratic and premature.
Please, be so kind and consider these facts and try to find some other and more suitable solu-tion.
Thank you for your opinions in advance.
Sincerely,
Miroslav Jandora
president
The Austerlitz 2005 Project
