Did the Czech government approve an occupational agreement with the United States? No, that's not true: The defense agreement approved on April 26, 2023, by the Czech government doesn't include the construction of a U.S. military base in the Czech Republic, nor a specific stay of American soldiers in the country, which still needs approval from government and parliament.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok where it was published by @verteneverte on May 3, 2023, with the title "Defensive part.1. the Czech (Occupation, Offensive) Treaty - what the American soldiers will do here!" It stated:
First let's make a bit of a comparison with the year 1968 when a foreign army, too, entered the territory of the Czech Republic, which was also invited here and the purpose was very similar,
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Fri May 19 13:11:49 2023 UTC)
The TikTok video, which also has parts two and three, with the same title, draws a false parallel between the new defense agreement and the occupational contract socialist Czechoslovakia signed with the Soviet Union in 1968 after the armies of the Warsaw Pact invaded the country, killing at least 108 people. The occupational contract led to a 23-year stay of 75,000 Soviet soldiers in the country.
However, the defense agreement document only deals with situations in which it may be possible to have the presence of U.S. troops in the Czech Republic, or the cooperation between U.S. and Czech armed forces on Czech territory. It addresses, for example, the legal status of U.S. Army troops, environmental protection, the operation of motor vehicles by U.S. troops and their families, and the status of U.S. armed forces contractors. It also deals with the exemption of U.S. soldiers from taxes and duties in the Czech Republic.
