Czech President Fires Holdover Defense Minister

President Vaclav Havel fired Defense Minister Miroslav Vacek on Wednesday and gave temporary control of the armed forces to Prime Minister Marian Calfa.

Havel’s office declined comment on the reasons for the dismissal. But Vacek, who served as army chief of staff under the former Communist government, recently had been accused of failing to provide documents to a panel investigating an alleged army plot to take over the government during last November’s anti-Communist uprising.

Vacek also had been criticized for delays in carrying out reforms of the armed services.

A presidential spokesman earlier in the week said the army had failed to hand over documents to a commission investigating the alleged military plot to take over radio and television stations during November’s “velvet revolution.”

Vacek also had been criticized for his reluctance to dismiss members of the army’s Communist-era command and for the perceived lack of readiness of Czechoslovakia’s armed forces.

Under Vacek’s stewardship, 10,000 career soldiers and officers have left the army, and 15,000 conscripts have opted for alternative service.