Masaryk University Rector's Board in Czech Republic condemns all forms of aggression, hate and violence, especially against minorities
In Brno, Czech Republic, the Rector's Board at Masaryk University has expressed its unease over the growing number of acts of hate and intolerance in society, thoroughly condemning expressions of aggression and hatred, especially toward minorities. The statement by the governing body including Rector Martin Bareš was sent to the media by Radim Sajbot, spokesperson for the university.
The university is responding, for example, to the murderous attack last month in Slovakia where a young man, apparently motivated by hatred, shot dead two members of the LGBT community in front of a club. The university is calling on its employees and students to be vigilant about all phenomena that threaten freedom and liberty.
The governing body issued its statement between the anniversaries of the birth of an independent Czechoslovak state in 1918 and the anniversaries of November 1939 and November 1989. “The Rector’s Board expresses its deepest concern over the growing number of acts of intolerance and hatred currently seen not only in…Czech society, and calls on public officials to treat these events seriously and with full responsibility,” the statement reads.
The board thoroughly condemns acts of aggression, hate or violence, especially against minorities, whether ethnic, nation, religious, social, sexual or any other kind. At the same time, Bareš is mentioning the recent attack in Slovakia, which he considers quite alarming.
“The Rector’s Board calls on all members of the academy, employees, and students of Masaryk University to remain alert with regard to all [the] dangers of populism and nationalism, trivialization of the public discourse and misinformation and verbal attacks against minorities, as well as to be generally alert with respect to all events and steps which undermine freedoms at their foundation,” Bareš has written in the statement. According to him, this is one social role and responsibility of universities as public institutions.
The statement also expresses the conviction that “any modern, democratic and open society must respect and defend the ideas, values, and principles of humanity, as one of the fundamental roles of the academic environment is to provide for a free forum for open discussion, free exchange of opinions and mutual respect.” The full statement is available in English here.
