Around 150 people rallied in the center of Prague on Sunday to protest against the possible location of a U.S. missile defense base in the Czech Republic.

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said at a press conference on Saturday that the United States had decided to start negotiations with Prague about the location of the radar part of its missile defense base in the Czech Republic.

Topolanek said this plan would increase the safety of the Czech Republic and the United States. And he believed that Czechs could benefit from the project in terms of economy, as well as science and research field.

He said the issue should be decided on by parliament and that he considers it was unnecessary to hold a referendum.

However, the people in the Czech Republic expressed fears that the U.S. missile base would decrease security in their countries. Around 65 percent of Czechs are against the plan, according to the latest poll.

The No to Bases activist group, which organized the protest, believed that the mandate of the government is too weak and the cabinet cheats the public.

The activists said that the base would seriously harm the local inhabitants' safety and interests.

"If we hold on, we can deal a blow to the USA that would be the biggest it has experienced over several past decades," a speaker at the meeting said.

The No to Bases group, founded in July 2006, also collects signatures on a petition demanding that a referendum on the base be held.

Almost 40,000 people signed various petitions against the project last year.

Source: Xinhua