Sir, - I write in response to an article by Derek Scally in your edition of November 30th entitled "Welcome to the sex capital of Europe".
While I fully respect the freedom of speech and autonomy of your newspaper, I must point out that this article contains a number of erroneous statements and unsubstantiated accusations and I would like to correct at least the most dubious of them.
1. It is not true that "prostitution in the Czech Republic is legal for over-15s". No legislation exists in the Czech Republic which would make prostitution legal. The above age limit merely refers to the fact that sexual relations with a person younger than 15 years of age is a criminal offence.
Furthermore, in compliance with one of the by-laws of Cheb (the border town featuring in Mr Scally's article), which prohibits prostitution in its streets, offenders are charged. None of the cases reported to date concern persons younger than 15.
2. It is incorrect to claim that Czech officials pay no attention to the problem of child prostitution and sex abuse.
There is no disputing the upsetting fact that certain regions of the Czech Republic, which share their borders with Germany, are fighting an uphill battle against the ever increasing number of sexual offences.
However, the government of the Czech Republic is tackling this problem in a responsible and committed manner. In support of this point, the European Commission noted in its regular report of November 13th an improvement in the measures taken to prevent sex tourism in the Czech Republic.
At the risk of stating the obvious, let me stress that in the Czech Republic - as in all other civilised countries - paedophilia and sex trade involving women and children are serious criminal offences.
At international level, there is very close and effective co-operation between the Czech Ministry of the Interior, the Czech Police and their German counterparts in targeting crime of this nature.
3. There is no evidence to justify the statement that in the Czech Republic "children of three and four are offered for rent or purchase". Sound investigative journalism is obliged to substantiate such claims with conclusive evidence and specific cases. In the absence of these, all we are left with is of nasty gossip.
4. On a related point, the workers of the project Karo, who seem to have been the main source of Mr Scally's article, have never provided the police with direct evidence of sexual offences against children. They also very rarely attend regular meetings organised by the police, which are aimed specifically at combating child prostitution and to which Karo representatives are invited.
Moreover, reports of other non-governmental organisations concerned with the same issues directly contradict those of Karo representatives.
5. The author claims that "as the Czech Republic looks to its future in the EU, thousands of its youngest citizens have no future". I struggle to imagine what could have inspired a conclusion so overwhelmingly dreary.
Again I would argue that hard facts suggest quite the opposite. For example, Czech unemployment figures compare rather favourably with those of most candidate states and a number of EU member-states.
The majority of Czech citizens enjoy relatively high living standards, with GDP per capita reaching 64 per cent of the EU average in the Czech Republic as a whole and 120 per cent in Prague.
It is also important to acknowledge that a large majority of those offering sexual services in the Czech Republic are not Czech nationals.
6. The author further suggests that the problem of child prostitution in the Cheb region is to a large extent linked to the Roma ethnic minority ("Many of the child prostitutes are drawn from Cheb's large Roma population").
In the EC regular report mentioned above, the Czech Republic was commended for increased efforts to combat the problems faced by the Roma community, with special emphasis on education. Moreover, the sensitive and controversial issues surrounding the Roma community are shared by all European countries and are not exclusively Czech.
I am appalled that a feature which would perhaps be more suited to a tabloid newspaper was given such prominence in a prestigious and well-informed newspaper, which I have always considered The Irish Times to be. - Yours, etc.,
Petr Kolβr, Ambassador of the Czech Republic, Dublin.