City of Brno's minority committee wants to prevent Workers' Youth marches

A Brno city council committee response for national minorities is emphatically opposing the 1 May marches planned for the city by the Workers’ Youth (Dělnická mládež – DM) organization. A resolution recently adopted by the committee openly refers to the facts that the two events announced for 1 May are being organized by Czech neo-Nazis, that they constitute acts of hatred against the members of national minorities living in Brno, and that they aim to instigate conflicts, fear, and tensions. City council member Martin Ander (Green Party – Strana zelených) heads the committee and presented its conclusions to journalists today.

The DM is connected to the Workers’ Social Justice Party (Dělnická strana sociální spravedlnosti – DSSS). The organization announced two marches for 1 May in Brno. Ander emphasized that one march will lead through Cejl and Francouzská streets, socially excluded localities where many Roma people live. “There is no doubt what the organizers of these actions are after,” Ander said.

The events were officially announced as celebrations of Labor Day. The municipality of Brno-střed and the Brno town hall refused both marches, but their arguments against them were not accepted by the Brno Regional Court. The authorities then filed a cassation complaint with the Supreme Administrative Court, which should hear the case. However, Ander says the court will only concern itself with the arguments put together by the authorities last November, which included grounds such as potential traffic complications. Ander said the situation has changed since then.

“There are already announcements for these marches on the website of National Resistance (Národní odpor – NO). It is evident that those convening these events did not tell the truth in their announcement and that the aim is not a conflict-free celebration of Labor Day, but an action against foreigners working in the Czech Republic,” Ander said.

At the instigation of the Committee for National Minorities, the town hall and city council should discuss both marches soon. Members of the committee want both authorities to review the matter and express public support for the calm coexistence of Brno residents with members of national minorities and the continuation of inclusion projects. They also want the authorities to do everything they can to prevent the marches.