Residents of the tiny Czech village of Trokavec have voted overwhelmingly against hosting a radar station as part of a proposed US missile defence shield, it was reported last night.
Trokavec, some 60 km west of Prague, organised the vote to show the strength of the villagers' opposition to the project, which Czech and US officials are discussing.
Seventy-one residents voted against hosting the radar station, only one backed it and the 16 other eligible voters did not take part.
"This is a clear signal to the government that it should not negotiate with the US without (our input)," the daily Mlada Fronta Dnes's website quoted Trokavec Mayor Jan Neoral as saying.
Trokavec is only 2 km from Brdy military base, a frontline Soviet position in the Cold War, and residents fear a radar station would again make them a target in case of war.
The result of the informal vote reflects growing opposition in the Czech Republic to the planned shield, which the United States says is needed to defend against possible missile attacks by "rogue nations" such as Iran or North Korea.
Poland is being asked to host missile batteries as part of the system.
The plan has angered Moscow, which sees it as encroaching on its former sphere of influence and an attempt to shift the post-Cold War balance of power, and raised concern in Europe.
Czechs were initially evenly divided on the plan, but recent polls show that nearly two-thirds of them now oppose it.