Commentary: Links and chains

The Workers’ Party (WP) is gradually being stamped out in the Czech Republic. Dupová and Vondrák, the leaders of the young “brownshirts” scene, are starting to answer the prosecutors’ questions before the court. Despite this, the friendly reception given in recent years to the WP hooligans by some non-Roma locals during the “Janov action” and other WP incursions, as well as the fact that a large part of the majority population has long rejected and ridiculed the former Czech Human Rights Ministers connected to the “Roma agenda” (Stehlíková, Kocáb), as well as pro-Roma organizations, newspapers, etc., sends a pretty clear signal. It alerts us to a situation in which the extreme right will learn to use a comprehensible, congenial, folksy vocabulary to name the “hot” problems being experienced by people every day and then twist them to their advantage. Meanwhile, in an effort to not poor oil on the fire, civil servants and human rights circles wrap everything in bureaucratic phrases and empty promises.

The latest “hit of the season” here in Brno has been the snatching of gold chains from around the necks of women in broad daylight, allegedly by some individuals from the ranks of the problematic part of the Romani population. This is more grist to the mill not only of the Workers’ Social Justice Party subculture, but also to local politicians from bigger parties who can now take up a “brownshirt” position of their own. The sooner these professional necklace-snatchers meet with harsh police action and resistance from both non-Roma and Roma on the Brno streets, the better. Otherwise, some non-Roma may feel once again that if the law can’t tackle this problem, the guys with the shaved heads and chains in their hands might be able to.