Intel shows decline in activity of far-right extremists
The national intelligence agency, BIS, says that efforts to curb right-wing
extremism in the Czech Republic have borne fruit. The agency’s quarterly
report on extremism, released this week, shows that the domestic
neo-fascist movement is in disarray thanks to several years of heavy
crackdowns by the police and the state. Christian Falvey has this report.
Neo-Nazis and far-right extremists in general in the Czech Republic are
fragmented, disoriented and concerned – that is the gist of the Security
Intelligence Service’s report on its monitoring of extremism in the third
quarter of 2010. According to the report, the movement has become passive,
nearly resigning on public gatherings and concerts due to the loss of their
political platform following the banning of the Workers’ Party and fear
of intensified police raids. While BIS makes its observations from the
inside of the extremist community, lawyer Klára Kalibová and her
association Tolerance and Civic Society have their eye on the movement from
the outside, and I asked her if her own perceptions concur with the
intelligence report.
“I would agree with BIS. The reason is the counteractions of the police
against right-wing extremism in the Czech Republic. So this is no surprise,
that right-wing extremism is decreasing. But on the other hand we should be
very aware of a possible increase in their activities in the next few
months.”
BIS reports that police and media pressure in the Czech Republic is such
that the neo-fascist community has begun travelling abroad to Poland and
Hungary for larger events and concerts, while domestic meetings are
confined of late to private gatherings. The only larger event in the third
quarter of 2010 was an annual march in the central town of Svitavy, which
was attended by some 200 neo-Nazi sympathisers. Otherwise their assembly
has been limited to the internet.
Meanwhile, the report notes that the neo-fascist movement in general is
dominated by discussion over its course for the future, with a conservative
core at odds with a younger group of activists promoting new trends and
forms of promotion, via graffiti and hip hop music, for example.
Despite what the agency calls the movement’s “stagnation”, there are
other serious, related problems still at large from Klára Kalibová’s
perspective.
“I would like to point out one very important trend, which is the
increase of hate crimes in the Czech Republic, which is not visible because
the statistics and official data are always the same, but from the point of
view of NGOs in the Czech Republic, verbal assaults and even physical
assaults are increasing, and the perpetrators are also not necessarily
members of right-wing movements”.
Left-wing extremism has not shown any significant activity in the
monitored period, according to the Security Intelligence Agency, and
confines itself to protests organised by non-extremist groups. Active
antifascist activities have declined along with the lapse in right-wing
activity, though the far left continues to monitor the fascist movement.
| 
Related articles
Also in section "News"
Most popular articles