Opposition leader refuses to apologize for “communist cop” quip

Deputy head of the opposition TOP 09 party Miroslav Kalousek has refused to apologize to fellow MP, Zdeněk Ondráček of the Communist Party, for calling him a “communist cop” in a lower house debate. The house’s mandate and immunity committee denounced the statement, and demanded that Mr Kalousek apologize to the Communist deputy. Mr Ondráček served as police officer under the communist regime and took part in the brutal suppression of a student march on November 17, 1989, which triggered the Velvet Revolution. But on Wednesday, Miroslav Kalousek said the committee’s decision was shameful, and appealed against the verdict.