EXTREMISM IN CZECH REPUBLIC GAINS VISIBILITY AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PRAGUE 000454 SENSITIVE SIPDIS EUR/CE FOR JBERGEMANN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ECON HU LO EZ SUBJECT: EXTREMISM IN CZECH REPUBLIC GAINS VISIBILITY AND GOVERNMENT RESPONDS REF: A) Prague 386, B) Prague 332, C) Prague 310, D) Czech Republic 2008 Human Rights Report ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In the Czech Republic, extremists have been involved in several notable public events over the last year targeting the Czech Roma population. These events, such as the two recent arson attacks against Roma houses, generated public outrage across the country. Right-wing extremist political parties have fared poorly, receiving only around one percent of the national vote. The Czech government has taken positive and concrete steps to address extremism, approving a new anti-extremism strategy and forming an anti-extremism task force to counteract any efforts by extremists to expand their base. End Summary. -------------- Recent Extremist Activities - A March and an Arson Attack -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Litvinov March: An anti-Roma march in Litvinov organized by the Workers Party on November 17, 2008, resulted in violent clashes between 600 to 700 extremists (some of whom traveled from other countries) and the police, resulting in 16 injuries (Ref D). Also present were several hundred local citizens who did not hide their aversion to Roma. The Litvinov march has since been followed by other much smaller marches and rallies, many of which have met with peaceful but firm resistance from the Roma community. (Note: The riots in Litvinov were the largest police action in the country since the anti-IMF/World Bank demonstrations in Prague in 2000, involving some 1,000 police. End Note.) ¶3. (U) In the aftermath of the Litvinov clashes the Association of Roma in Northern Moravia called on the Prime Minister, the Interior Minister, and the Minister for Human Rights to outlaw the Workers Party and also the National Resistance. "The events in Litvinov and other demonstrations organized by extremist groups clearly show that these parties try to provoke Roma to violence," said Milan Ferenc, Chairman of the association, in a newspaper interview. ¶4. (SBU) Arson Attacks Against Roma Families: In the early morning hours of April 19, unknown perpetrators threw three Molotov cocktails into the home of a Roma family in the village of Vitkov, Northern Moravia. The ensuing blaze injured three people, including a two-year-old girl who is still being treated for second and third-degree burns over 80 percent of her body. The water mains to the house had been shut off prior to the attack and the house was destroyed. The town, which was outraged by this attack, collected almost eight hundred thousand Czech crowns (around USD 47,000) in donations for the purchase of a new home for the family. This arson attack was followed by another on a Roma family, fortunately unsuccessful, during May in the village of Zdiby, not far from Prague. Police are still investigating both cases. -------------- Roma Asylum Requests Rise Significantly in Canada -------------- ¶5. (SBU) In the first half of 2009 there has been a significant rise in Czech Roma fleeing to Canada, mirroring a similar exodus during the mid-1990s that caused Canada to institute a visa requirement for all Czech citizens that was only lifted in 2007. (Note: Czech citizens filed 1,720 requests for asylum in Canada during the first half of this year, second only to Mexican requests in Canada. End Note.) Czech asylum seekers frequently cite in their asylum petitions a rise in extremism, the two arson attacks, and the failure of the police to arrest anyone for these attacks. A recent report by the Czech Ministry of Human Rights points to the weakening Czech economy, the inability of Czech Roma to obtain employment due to discrimination, and family ties as other factors motivating Roma to request asylum. -------------- Government Anti-Extremism Initiatives -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The government has responded to the rise in extremist incidents with both public comments and actions. According to President Vaclav Klaus, government actions against extremists should be much tougher. "Politicians and mayors are often afraid that if they take action against extremists they will lose popularity. I am very much against such an attitude," said Klaus at a commemorative rally marking the 67th anniversary of the Nazi destruction of the town of Lidice. According to Klaus, existing legislation offers the possibility to act clearly and vigorously. ¶7. (SBU) The interim government of Jan Fischer, which was installed after Mirek Topolanek's coalition government was toppled in March, has pledged to fight rising extremism in the country. "In one point the government will not, and cannot, be reconciliatory. It is the fight against extremism. Racially or politically motivated violence is a cancer of democratic society, and it will be the task of the government to face it clearly, effectively, and with visible results," Prime Minister Fischer stressed upon taking office. The interim government also appointed Jiri Komorous as the Deputy Interior Minister in charge of fighting extremism. Komorous quickly PRAGUE 00000454 002 OF 003 formed an anti-extremism task force (Ref B) after his appointment. According to Komorous, he intends to evaluate how best to address the extremist Workers Party, with an eye to its possible abolishment. On July 29, the Interior Ministry announced that it will once again seek to ban the Workers Party. ¶8. (SBU) In May, the Czech government approved a new Anti-Extremism Strategy in reaction to the recent attacks and hostility toward the Roma. The strategy aims to counteract extremism and xenophobia in the country. It introduces more effective penalties for extremist-related crimes and emphasizes prevention, particularly through education. It also stresses the need to improve professionalism of specialists on extremism, education of judges, and an effective joint inter-ministerial approach to the extremism issue. The Czech government admitted in the New Anti-Extremism Strategy that 2008 witnessed a significant radicalization of the far right and increased sophistication in the techniques extremists use to disseminate their propaganda. According to the New Anti-Extremism Strategy paper, "Compared to 2007, 2008 witnessed an increase of far right public activities...with increased number of participants and their growing radicalization and readiness for confrontation..." The document also cites four major possible security risks: "continuing radicalization of extremist groups; possible transformation of virtual paramilitary organizations (such as National Guards of the Workers' Party) into real paramilitary organizations; efforts to infiltrate the Police of the Czech Republic; and acceptance of extremist ideas by the general public." ¶9. (SBU) In June, the Interior Ministry published a manual for municipalities on how to tackle extremism. The manual advises on how to ban or dissolve marches and demonstrations by far-right groups, if justified. The manual also contains a list of banned symbols and dates relating to Nazi anniversaries. ¶10. (SBU) In July, the Senate passed an amendment to the assembly law to help town halls fight extremism. The amendment extends the deadline by which towns and villages may act on a proposed rally or march from three calendar to three working days. The change was initially proposed by Human Rights Minister Michael Kocab and Interior Minister Martin Pecina because some organizations deliberately submitted march or rally requests on a Friday, which only gave local authorities one working day to decide on the ban. The legislation needs to be signed by President Vaclav Klaus to take effect. Further, Minister Pecina announced in July that police patrols will be stepped up in "risky" neighborhoods occupied primarily by Roma. -------------- A Brief History of Czech Extremism -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Right-wing extremism, although nothing new in the Czech Republic, has never played a big role in Czech politics. Before World War II, Fascist groups, mainly composed of students, were in Czechoslovakia with aims similar to the ultra-right movements of today: dissolution of the parliament, restriction of the rights of minorities (especially Jews and the Roma),and simple solutions to complex problems. However, these groups never succeeded in mainstream politics. After 1989, a right-wing political party, Miroslav Sladek's Republicans, was established. The party made it to the Lower House of the Czech Parliament in 1992 and remained until 1998 when it then fell into oblivion. Other small ultra-right groups were formed in the 1990s, such as the National Front, National Alliance, National Party, National Home Guard, National Resistance, Autonomous Nationalists, and Free Nationalists. Their impact, however, was negligible. ¶12. (SBU) Today the most vocal and the most significant ultra-right group is the Workers Party (DS),which in February 2009 had 600 registered members. The Workers Party was established mostly by former Sladek's Republicans and registered as a political party in January 2003. It releases its own newspaper, "Delnicke listy" (Workers Paper) and in January 2009 it launched its own Internet TV channel. In the 2004 European Parliamentary elections the Workers Party received 4,289 votes (0.18 percent),followed by 0.15 percent of the vote in subsequent regional Czech elections. After this, the Workers Party established close links with the German NPD National Democratic Party. In 2007, DS cooperated with other nationalistic groups and organized demonstrations against communism, drugs, positive discrimination, NATO, and the planned Missile Defense facility in the Czech Republic. In the 2008 fall regional elections, the Workers Party ran together with the Democratic Party of Social Justice under the motto "The Workers Party - For Abolition of Health Charges." The DS received 1.02 percent of the vote. In the European Parliament elections in June 2009, the Workers Party won 1.07 percent of the vote, making it eligible for a state financial contribution worth 750,000 Czech crowns (about USD 41,000). (Comment: The Workers Party won no seats in the European Parliament based on this result. In comparison, the right-wing Jobbik party in Hungary won 14.8 percent of the popular vote in the European Parliament elections, gaining 3 seats, while the Slovak PRAGUE 00000454 003 OF 003 National Party won 5.6 percent of the vote and will send one member to parliament. End comment.) -------------- Conclusion -------------- ¶13. (SBU) Comment: While extremist views represent a very small minority of the Czech voting public, this is an issue that the GOCR continues to contend with. The interim government has taken several steps, including increased penalties for extremist acts, expanded education, training, and interagency coordination, and giving local communities better guidance and authority. The upcoming parliamentary elections in October, however, mean that the interim government has limited time to make further progress on law enforcement and legislative actions before it steps down. Whether, and how, the next government deals with extremism will not be clear until after the October elections. Thompson-Jones