Czech Republic: Racists' weekend demos are debacles

Two hate actions planned by racists in the Czech Republic for Saturday, 14 September have both ended in total fiasco. An assembly by the neo-Nazi "Czech Lions" (Čeští lvi) group never got off the ground in České Budějovice, while only 60 people turned out for a rally by the right-wing extremist DSSS in Varnsdorf. 

News server Deník.cz reports that the party’s rally on the local square in Varnsdorf began about 20 minutes late. Opponents of the party were on hand, as were their supporters and a police anti-conflict team. 

Prior to the rally it had been unclear whether the racists’ assembly would turn into street battles similar to those that took place there in 2011. During a speech given by DSSS leader Tomáš Vandas, many people simply left the rally.

Meanwhile, local Romani residents were being supported by activists from the "Let’s Block the Marches!" (Blokujeme!) platform. "Our volunteer team was in Varnsdorf providing psychosocial support to the local community and organizing a children’s day for the children who were being victimized by this hatred. The team included a child psychologist and psychiatrist. Our activities included a performance by the "Koně a motor" (Horse and Motor) theater group. We thank all the actors and actresses as well as our volunteers. We also thank the local Romani community for their hospitality and warm reception. We know people opposed to racism were out on the square as well, some even came from Germany," Miroslav Brož, a spokesperson for the Blokujeme! platform, told news server Romea.cz.  

An attempt at an assembly and subsequent march on the Máj housing estate in České Budějovice ended in a total fiasco. The event was convened by the neo-Nazi "Czech Lions" group as part of their ongoing "Czech Lion Tour" and no one but a few right-wing extremists showed up for it.

According to information obtained by news server Romea.cz, even the main organizer, "Alpha Lion" Jiří Šlégr, who uses the nickname "Jiří Wraith" online, did not show up for the event. Šlégr and his "fellow warriors" did not make it from their base in northern Bohemia down to České Budějovice in South Bohemia by 14:00.

"We hit the road at 10 AM, but then we were delayed. It was after 14:00 when we made it to Písek. I called the other participants in Budějovice and learned there were about 15 people there. I told them to disperse the event," Šlégr explained on Facebook to several resentful racists who wanted to know what went wrong.  

A protest did take place on the square in České Budějovice, one against the ongoing hate assemblies and marches. "In response to the march with a racially motivated subtext, the Budějovice against Violence (Budějovice proti násilí) initiative decided to hold another peaceful event to show that these marches are hateful, useless, and do not contribute to solving any problems," Radka Doležalová of the intiative told news server Deník.cz.

The peaceful action, entitled "Knihujeme" (Let’s Book It) involved reading the Czech Constitution and various other books aloud next to Samson’s Fountain on the square for almost three hours. News server Deník.cz reports that people brought titles such as Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot, American psychologist Gordon Allport’s book The Nature of Prejudice, and Jack London’s The Star Rover.