Czech President, after Duchcov, says fiercer action needed against any manifestations of neo-Nazism

Czech President Miloš Zeman said today that he saw in Saturday’s violent spree by neo-Nazis in Duchcov the confirmation of his previous prognosis about a dangerous upswing in neo-Nazism in the Czech Republic. The president warned of the dangers of neo-Nazis both in his inaugural speech and in a speech given last week at the Lidice commemoration. 

The president made his remarks during the revived "Conversations from Lány" ("Hovorech z Lán") program broadcast by Czech Radio’s Radiožurnál station. He was asked how he views the weekend’s unrest in Duchcov, where a group of ultra-right radicals assaulted police officers.

"This spree by skinheads with nothing on their heads and nothing in them means that what is now growing in our country is not neo-Fascism, but neo-Nazism. I absolutely cannot stand it when people speak of this as Fascism, that was a typically Italian phenomenon. Here we should speak only of Nazism and neo-Nazis," the president said.

Zeman believes it will not be a simple matter to resolve the situation. "Definitely not by banning the party, that’s what brought us the Workers Social Justice Party, which I believe had a different name before it was first banned. If you were to ban this party, it will just rename itself and go on its merry way once more. In my opinion, and this is linked to police activity, there is a need to take much fiercer action against any manifestations of neo-Nazism, whether they be demonstrations or the so-called concerts which actually aren’t concerts because what they are shouting there are not neo-Nazi but purely Nazi slogans, etc. I believe we must give them no rest," Zeman said in the interview.

The president also reflected on why politicians who listened to his inaugural address in the Valdštejn Hall applauded his criticisms of some journalists but did not applaud when he spoke of the danger of neo-Nazis. "I don’t want to touch on their consciences, at the time they may have considered that statement to have been a trite phrase and today they realize it wasn’t. It would be hyperbole if I were to say that they didn’t applaud my mention of the neo-Nazis because they are neo-Nazis themselves, definitely not. They probably said to themselves ‘This guy is overestimating the neo-Nazism, it’s not such a burning issue’. Yes, right now it is not yet a hot issue, but on the other hand, if you are raising a python in your bathtub, and you just wait until it grows up and smothers you, then you’re not very forward-looking," Zeman said.

In the town of Duchcov (Teplice district) a rally by the Workers Social Justice Party (Dělnická strana sociální spravedlnosti – DSSS) on 22 June grew into street clashes with police. Aggressive neo-Nazis assaulted police officers and threw bottles and rocks. Police used firecrackers, tear gas and water cannon. Police report five people injured, two of them officers. One riot officer was downed and had to be helped to safety by his colleagues. The injured included one photographer, who suffered lacerations to his head. Police spokesperson Šárka Poláčková said police arrested 22 people.