Czech Army battles extremists in its own ranks

Czech Defense Minister Alexandr Vondra will present a manual today that is intended to help military commanders and soldiers fight the infiltration of extremism into the Army. Czech Defense Ministry spokesperson Jan Pejšek told the Czech Press Agency the ministry spent two years preparing the publication, which describes how to identify both left-wing and right-wing extremist movements.

The Army has had problems with extremism more than once in the past. Two Czech soldiers serving in Afghanistan wore Nazi division symbols on their helmets, while another Czech soldier was discovered with a tattoo honoring Nazi SS units.

Czech neo-Nazis have been serving not only in the rank and file of the Army of the Czech Republic, but even in the elite 4th Rapid Response Brigade, from which the Czech contingent in Iraq was recruited for work as part of the MNF-I (Multi-national Force – Iraq) . The 4th Brigade also participates in missions with ISAF in Afghanistan, KFOR in Kosovo, and joint exercises and reviews with other NATO units. This information reveals neo-Nazi hypocrisy in all its glory: On the one hand these extremists have been profiling themselves, in a populist manner, as opposing the occupation of Iraq, while on the other hand their members are directly participating in the occupation.

Vladimír Holub is a typical example. Anti-fascists first learned of the 24-year old neo-Nazi from North Bohemia in 2001, when their hackers managed to put a stop to the creation of a neo-Nazi organization for youth called Bohemia White Power. One of the members of this organization, which remained more or less virtual, was Holub, 18 years old at the time, who used then and still uses today the nickname Stuartswaffen (evidently after Ian Stuart, the founder of Blood and Honour, the largest neo-Nazi organization in the world, often termed by neo-Nazis “the second-greatest person after Adolf Hitler”). Vladimír Holub is part of the circle of North Bohemian neo-Nazis that includes the Radical Boys Brux, National Resistance North (Národní odpor Sever) from Teplice, National Resistance Karlovy Vary (Národního odpor Karlovy Vary), and the neo-Nazi band Hlas Krve (“Voice of the Blood”). He served in the 4th Rapid Response Brigade in the 41st Mechanized Battalion under General Josef Malý. In addition to attending fascist and neo-Nazi concerts and demonstrations in the Czech Republic, Holub participated in the largest meeting of neo-Nazis since the end of WWII in the Bavarian town of Wunsiedel three years ago. That event always takes place during the second half of August in honor of Hitler’s sidekick, the war criminal Rudolf Hess.

The case of Jan Brhel, a neo-Nazi from Teplice who is also linked to Radical Boys Brux and Národní odpor Sever, is also typical. Like Vladimír Holub, he was a member of the 4th Rapid Reaction Brigade in Žatec. Brhel, under the nickname “hugin_munin”, won the Šatnář 2007 competition invented by Radical Boys Brux. This is a contest to see who can tear the most badges or patches from the clothing of alternative youth, and Brhel managed to collect the most. Perhaps he purchased them; otherwise we would have to believe a member of an elite army unit is capable of committing robbery with violence.

Martin Hrach, nicknamed Temné_Svědomí (“Dark_Conscience”) is also worth recalling. He is the leading figure in Radical Boys Brux. Unlike most neo-Nazis, he does not succumb to the usual hysteria or pathos and is capable of detachment and sober reasoning. Combined with his physique and tattoos, which are impressive to less intellectually developed individuals, these qualities make him something of a “one-eyed king among the blind” on the neo-Nazi scene. On a hooligans’ internet discussion forum, Hrach declared he would not be participating in an event against the occupation of Iraq (actually a celebration of the anniversary of Kristallnacht) because it would risk his position at work. Of course, he did actively join the National Resistance demonstration on 1 May 2007 in Brno, the neo-Nazi event in Most on 19 May 2007, etc.

The Czech Defense Ministry has published several thousand copies of its manual on extremism. They will first be distributed to unit commanders so they can use them instruct their subordinates, Pejšek told the Czech Press Agency. The Army claims to still be following sympathizers of extremist movements in its ranks and says their numbers are falling.

News server Romea.cz conducted the following interview with Czech Defense Ministry spokesperson Jan Pejšek:

Q: The ministry spent two years on this publication. Which experts did you collaborate with? Is it a practical manual with useful information for commanders? What was the aim of preparing this publication?

A: The publication “Extremism as a Security Risk ” (“Extremismus jako bezpečnostní hrozba“) was elaborated by two leading Czech experts in extremism, Doc. JUDr. PhDr. Miroslav Mareš, Ph.D. of Masaryk University Brno, and JUDr. PhDr. Ivo Svoboda, Ph.D. of the Defense University in Brno (Univerzita obrany Brno). The brochure is intended for commanders and management staff of the Defense Ministry to help them uncover manifestations of extremism among the soldiery. The aim is to eliminate any possible manifestation of such behavior at the Defense Ministry.

Q: There will be several thousand of these brochures…can you be more specific? Who will work with them? Will the publications be accompanied by seminars on how to work with them, or by methodological instructions?

A: The print run is 9 000 and they cost CZK 10 each to produce. Commanders and management staff will receive them, and several hundred will also be provided to the Defense Ministry for its own use. There won’t be any seminars on this publication, it’s just one part of the preventive measures initiated this year. Lectures and trainings for soldiers on this issue have been happening for a year and a half already. Throughout the entire Army there have been 106 lectures and trainings for commanders and rank-and-file soldiers on the topic of extremism.

Q: You say you are following extremism in the Army, the extremists themselves, and that their numbers are falling. What are the specific numbers?

A: In 2009 the Military Police investigated 10 cases of illegal behavior that showed signs of extremism. Criminal prosecutions were initiated in five cases.

In 2010 the Military Police investigated 17 cases of illegal behavior that showed signs of extremism. In three cases, criminal prosecutions were initiated. Two prosecutions initiated during the previous year continued during 2010.

This year the Military Police have investigated six cases of illegal behavior that showed signs of extremism so far. For the time being only one case has required the initiation of criminal proceedings.

Q: Whom do these manifestations of extremism primarily concern, are we speaking only of the Army? What opportunities are there to learn about these cases?

A: These are manifestations of extremism in the rank and file. Most of the cases are known from the press (the soldiers in Afghanistan with the Nazi symbols on their helmets, the soldier from Strakonice with the tattoos, etc.). We definitely have no reason to hush up such cases, as media coverage of them can serve as a warning to others.

Q: What recourse is possible? What happens to a soldier who has an SS tattoo? Is he fined, sanctioned, discharged from the Army, are his actions monitored more closely? Will a psychologist work with him?

A: Whenever such a case comes to light, it is submitted to the Military Police, which starts investigating. At that moment the soldier is either reassigned to so-called “personnel disposition” (he stays home and draws only 50 % of his pay), or is transferred to a job where he cannot access weapons. Should his involvement in extremism be proven, it is the end of his military career. There is no room in the ranks of the Army for such people.