In a historic address to the Bavarian Parliament on Thursday Prime
Minister Petr Nečas expressed regret over the post-war expulsion of
millions of Sudeten Germans. He said the principle of collective guilt
applied at the end of the war was an injustice that hurt thousands of
innocent people, people who had significantly contributed to the economic
and cultural development of the border region, but he made it clear that
there could be no question of abolishing the Beneš decrees or making
property claims relating to the expulsions. Very few wrongs of the past are
ever corrected, the Czech prime minister noted. Mr. Nečas who is the first
Czech prime minister ever to address the Bavarian Parliament, highlighted
the common cultural heritage of Bavarians and Czechs expressing the hope
that their common roots would help the two sides overcome the sensitive
issues of the past and focus on their future in Europe.