Czech Interior Ministry: Anti-system movements overtake extremists, murder of Romani man in Brno sparks tensions between Romani community and Ukrainians
Anti-system movements have absolutely overtaken the extremist scene and the populist xenophobe scene in the Czech Republic during the first half of 2023. The figures of such movements are generated through social media and either compete or conclude short-term alliances with each other.
The thinking of part of Czech society is also deeply influenced by many years of Russia’s hybrid actions to covertly undermine democracy. Those are the conclusions of the Czech Interior Ministry’s mid-year report on extremism during the first six months of 2023.
The ministry also warned that some members of the Romani community have made xenophobic remarks about Ukrainians. The ministry reports that compared to the anti-system groups which were operating before the COVID-19 pandemic, the movements today have more “vitality”.
The anti-system movements are chiefly being created by people age 40 and older. “It is possible, therefore, to speak of a revolt among middle-aged or older individuals who are feeling a sense of existential anxiety and experiencing a sense of alienation,” the report concludes.
Anti-system movements: Individuals who disagree with each other but are doing their best to create the impression of having a mass following
According to the Interior Ministry, the anti-system movements are created by a broad range of disparate groups, each of which has a limited number of members and a limited life span. Frequently these groups are composed just of a few individuals, but they all have been doing their best to create the impression, when presenting themselves, of being mass membership, well-organized entities with political ambitions, “including the ambition of replacing the existing political system with a different governance method.”
The representatives of some of these entities back up their arguments with different conspiracy theories or do their best to give them a spiritual dimension. “Individuals who purposefully take advantage of the frustrations of others to acquire popularity, financial profit or political capital have also ‘glommed on’ to these movements,” the ministry reports.
The Interior Ministry also reports that people active in the anti-system movement have begun to take on board the idea that the Czech Republic is not a legitimate state. So far, the so-called “sovereign citizens” concept, according to the ministry, has been chiefly displayed through actions intended to either coerce the authorities or to ignore their calls, but the culmination of these actions has been incidents at the Municipal Court in Prague or the Regional Court in Hradec Králové: “These persons tried to block specific court hearings of defendants whom they depicted as victims of an illegitimate system,” the Interior Ministry explained.
Murder of a Romani man in Brno sparks tensions between the Romani community and Ukrainians
During the first half of this year, according to the report, racist or xenophobic speeches were also made by persons who are otherwise not tied to the right-wing extremist environment. The Interior Ministry mentions tensions between the Romani community and Ukrainians which arose after the murder of a young Romani man in early June in Brno.
Although police never confirmed it, the suspect in that case was a Ukrainian man who was arrested and charged with murder. “In association with the murder of a young Romani man in Brno, members of the Romani community made xenophobic remarks about Ukrainians. At the same time, some persons were recorded as trying to purposefully further fan the flames of these tensions,” the Interior Ministry writes, adding that some Romani and Ukrainian figures also made public appearances warning against applying collective guilt.
“Tensions between these ethnic groups later intensified, among other reasons, after a street brawl in Pardubice that ended with a Romani man sustaining cuts to his face,” the Interior Ministry added, stating that in the future, more conflicts between some Romani people (who are Czech nationals) and some Ukrainaians may yet happen: “Both the majority society and minorities have been going through many stressful situations which could impact their heightened sensitivity and reactivity to interethnic conflicts. Should these facts be neglected or underestimated, tensions will grow and extremists and populists will take advantage of that situation.”
Other findings: Pro-Russian activities, disinformation media outlets lose influence, left-wing and right-wing extremists are in decline, the “Freedom and Direct Democracy” (SPD) party is the xenophobic constant
During the first half of 2023, the Interior Ministry has recorded a great number of activities falling into the category of pro-Russian hybrid action. This action is being aimed against the Czech Republic due to her support for Ukraine.
In addition to the production of disinformation and support for anti-system streams of thought, this action includes false alarms, intimidation of opponents, and repeated cybernetic attacks. The aim here, according to the Interior Ministry, is to undermine and weaken the pillars of the democratic system.
Disinformation media outlets’ potential to radicalize society is waning, according to the Interior Ministry, as their readers prefer the punchier, shorter communications or streaming videos spreading through social media. During the first half of 2023, such media outlets produced reports targeting the Government and liberal democracy.
These media outlets have been constantly producing xenophobic content against Muslims and migrants, and the Interior Ministry also registered antisemitic theories in their output. This year, the right-wing extremists of the Czech Republic have been chiefly focusing on actions abroad and maintaining contact with the larger movement.
Militia groups in the Czech Republic have been paralyzed by disagreements and fear of prosecution and have not managed to generate any charismatic figures. As for anarchist collectives, the Interior Ministry says they are “mentally exhausted and stereotypical”; the community is rigid and new members are not joining it.
The ministry has not recorded any significant displays of religious extremism this year. Most of the xenophobic groups which arose in response to the 2014-2015 migration crisis have already lost their significance or completely ceased to exist.
“The only constant on that scene is the Freedom and Direct Democracy movement. During the period under review, it earned our attention because of contacts between representatives of that movement and Alternative für Deutschland in Germany, in particular with its youth organization, Junge Alternative,” the Interior Ministry reports, adding that the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has labeled that party a “suspicious case” in relation to right-wing extremism and its youth organization as a direct example of the extreme right.
Orthodox communists in the Czech Republic also continued to share pro-Kremlin narratives this year and the Interior Ministry registered activity by Stalinists who downplay the crimes of communism. According to the ministry, some orthodox communists openly cast doubt on democratic principles.
The most attention has been drawn by Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM) vice-chair Josef Skála, the ministry reported. “Over time he has distanced himself from purely communist ideas and is oriented more toward the so-called anti-system movements,” the ministry said.
Skála was given an eight-month suspended sentence for denying a war crime, the Katyn massacre of Polish prisoners of war by the USSR in 1940.
Interior Ministry logs 69 hate crimes this year, three fewer than last year
During the first six months of 2023 the Interior Ministry logged 69 hate crimes, three fewer than by this same point last year. Police have clarified 26 of them so far.
Compared to the same period in 2022, the number of persons charged with committing hatefully motivated crimes has risen from 15 to 43 prosecutions. Just like last year, the most frequently registered crime of this sort is violence against a group and its individual members.
During the first half of 2022 the ministry logged 26 such crimes, but this year there have only been 15 so far. The next most frequent crime was incitement to hatred of a nation or race, with 14 cases; 12 cases of dangerous threats; and 10 cases of defamation of an ethnic, national or racial group.
The ministry also logged six cases of intentional bodily harm with hateful motivation. The highest number of hate crimes, 39 specifically, was recorded by the ministry in Prague, followed by the Moravian-Silesian Region with eight such cases and the Central Bohemian Region with seven such cases.
Three regions, Hradec Králové, Plzeň and Zlín, recorded no crimes with any extremist subtexts.
