by Gwendolyn Albert
\nNov. 28 2008<\/p>\n
If the media is anything to go by, the neo-Nazi violence in Litv\u00ednov Nov. 17 has largely achieved the organizers\u2019 aims of promoting nationalist hatred in the Czech Republic. Headlines referring to rasov\u00e9 nepokoje (\u201cethnic troubles\u201d) have largely oversimplified what is actually going on: namely, the international neo-Nazi movement is targeting a hate campaign against this particular Roma community. The commitment of these neo-Nazis, the energy of the attack on the Roma community at the Janov housing estate and the neo-Nazis\u2019 aggression toward the police are new and very dangerous developments.<\/p>\n
Cyril Koky, a member of the Czech Government Council for Roma Community Affairs, said Czech Human Rights and Minorities Minister D\u017eamila Stehl\u00edkov\u00e1 should consider resigning over the failure of her efforts to avert Nov. 17\u2019s violence. As everyone following the developments in Litv\u00ednov predicted to the authorities, the Janov housing estate was turned into something resembling a warzone for several hours on a national holiday. The \u201ctroubles\u201d were not between \u201cethnic groups\u201d at all, but between members of the international neo-Nazi movement and the Czech police. Worse still, many non-Roma locals in Litv\u00ednov have made it clear in media interviews that they believe the neo-Nazis should be allowed to carry out their violent intentions without police interference.<\/p>\n
Koky is correct that Stehl\u00edkov\u00e1 and other authorities are to blame. At a meeting last month at the Interior Ministry \u2014 which included various NGOs and government officials \u2014 to discuss security in Roma neighborhoods after October\u2019s riot in Litv\u00ednov, the authorities\u2019 responses bordered on the surreal. Czech Government Commissioner for Human Rights Jan Litomisk\u00fd, as usual, sat through the meeting without opening his mouth during the free-ranging \u201cdiscussion.\u201d While the vast majority of those present complained about neo-Nazi violence and the lack of official action against it, officials kept reiterating how much money had been spent on \u201cpreventing crime\u201d within the Roma community \u2014 a different issue entirely and totally unrelated to suppressing neo-Nazi violence. An Interior Ministry spokesperson even went so far as to say the ministry could not take steps to dissolve the National Party\u2019s paramilitary National Guard \u201cbecause it is not an officially registered organization.\u201d I could hardly believe my ears \u2014 organized crime doesn\u2019t \u201cofficially register\u201d with the Interior Ministry either, but we still expect the police to try to stop it.<\/p>\n
The Litv\u00ednov situation raises serious questions about the rule of law in the Czech Republic. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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by Gwendolyn Albert Nov. 28 2008 If the media is anything to go by, the neo-Nazi violence in Litv\u00ednov Nov. 17 has largely achieved the organizers\u2019 aims of promoting nationalist hatred in the Czech Republic. Headlines referring to rasov\u00e9 nepokoje … Continue reading