Extremist groups aim to benefit from social unrest in North Bohemia
The security situation in parts of North Bohemia, where tension between the
Roma and non-Roma communities has been rising for weeks, failed to improve
at the weekend – just the opposite. An illegal demonstration against the
Roma community again tested police, who on Saturday blocked almost 1,000
participants from making their way to a local Roma settlement. Allegedly
organised by a neo-Nazi group, the protest is seen as evidence that
extremist groups are trying to exploit the deteriorating situation for
their own ends.
The situation in several towns in North Bohemia - Varnsdorf, Rumburk,
Šluknov – has been described as increasingly explosive and there were
signs at the weekend things are only getting worse. Since tensions flared
up over an increase in local violence in recent weeks, police in riot gear
have been out in force to prevent incidents between local Roma and non-Roma
communities from getting out-of-hand. And although they have so far
succeeded, the picture at the weekend was far from pretty. On Saturday,
hundreds of people in Varnsdorf took part in a demonstration organised by a
neo-Nazi group, to march to a local Roma area. Ten participants were
charged with misdemeanours and four with crimes – including the
propagation of Nazism in the form of a pro-Hitler T-shirt, an act which
carries a sentence of up to three years in prison. Police spokeswoman
Jaroslava Hrubešová described additional incidents:
“There were people who tried to attack police officers, who vandalised a
police vehicle, or refused a police order.”
According to the police and extremism experts, the most recent
demonstration – and one planned for next weekend by the ultra right-wing
Workers’ Party for Social Justice – is evidence that extremist
organisations are trying to manipulate and escalate tension for their own
ends, while benefiting from increased media attention. On Sunday, deputy
police president Vladislav Husák suggested on Czech TV the one danger was
that the kind of intolerance and anger now visible in North Bohemia could
spread.
“The situation, which grew worse over the summer in the Šluknov area,
could –under certain impulses and with the passing of time – crop up in
other parts of the Czech Republic.”
While the police weigh their options and consider where to redouble their
efforts, some sources reported that politicians are hoping that current
anger between the Roma and non-Roma will eventually boil over. Public
broadcaster Czech TV, for example, stressed that Prime Minister Petr Necas
is putting stock in the government’s social reforms to improve the
situation, slashing benefits that until now have easily been abused.
Proposed, for example, are strict limits to receiving welfare; the argument
goes that some complaints between communities will level-off once the
reforms kick-in. The opposition Social Democrats, strongly against plans by
the current government, though, are far from convinced; arguing that the
problem of intolerance, mistrust and potential violence on a rise in North
Bohemia will not be solved by “repressive” measures alone.
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The situation in several towns in North Bohemia - Varnsdorf, Rumburk,
Šluknov – has been described as increasingly explosive and there were
signs at the weekend things are only getting worse. Since tensions flared
up over an increase in local violence in recent weeks, police in riot gear
have been out in force to prevent incidents between local Roma and non-Roma
communities from getting out-of-hand. And although they have so far
succeeded, the picture at the weekend was far from pretty. On Saturday,
hundreds of people in Varnsdorf took part in a demonstration organised by a
neo-Nazi group, to march to a local Roma area. Ten participants were
charged with misdemeanours and four with crimes – including the
propagation of Nazism in the form of a pro-Hitler T-shirt, an act which
carries a sentence of up to three years in prison. Police spokeswoman
Jaroslava Hrubešová described additional incidents:
“There were people who tried to attack police officers, who vandalised a
police vehicle, or refused a police order.”
While the police weigh their options and consider where to redouble their
efforts, some sources reported that politicians are hoping that current
anger between the Roma and non-Roma will eventually boil over. Public
broadcaster Czech TV, for example, stressed that Prime Minister Petr Necas
is putting stock in the government’s social reforms to improve the
situation, slashing benefits that until now have easily been abused.
Proposed, for example, are strict limits to receiving welfare; the argument
goes that some complaints between communities will level-off once the
reforms kick-in. The opposition Social Democrats, strongly against plans by
the current government, though, are far from convinced; arguing that the
problem of intolerance, mistrust and potential violence on a rise in North
Bohemia will not be solved by “repressive” measures alone.
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