Czech city bans DSSS youth march as anti-Roma provocation

Yesterday the Brno town hall banned a gathering planned for 1 May 2012 by representatives of the Workers’ Youth (Dělnická mládež – DM) association, a group closely connected to the banned Workers’ Party and its successor, the Workers’ Social Justice Party (Dělnická strana sociální spravedlnosti – DSSS). Youths associated with DSSS party chair Vandas evidently want to provoke local Roma by marching down Bratislavská, Francouzská and Cejl streets, where most of the Roma in Brno live.

The town hall has banned the gathering “since the purpose of the assembly is to incite hatred and intolerance and to call for denying or restricting the personal, political or other rights of citizens based on their nationality, sex, race, origin, political or other convictions, religion or social position.” Local governments of the relevant city districts, representatives of the public transport administration, and the city’s transportation department also expressed concern that the march would cause transport complications and did not recommend permitting it. One district’s position is that there is justifiable concern that a conflict might occur and that both those participating in the assembly and others might risk injury as a result.

The gathering is being convened by Worker’s Youth chair Erik Lamprecht, known to the state police as a promoter of the extreme right. Police say he participated in a right-wing extremist march in 2009 in honor of Nazi German soldiers who died on Czech territory during WWII. “Currently Erik Lamprecht chairs the Workers’ Youth, which expressly advocates and espouses the ideas of National Socialism,” a police report says.

In addition to his membership in the Workers’ Youth, Lamprecht is also a DSSS member and ran for office this year in sixth place on the party’s South Moravian candidate list for the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. Lamprecht’s vice-chair Jan Hráček is a DSSS member who also ran on the party’s ticket this year.

Members of the banned Workers’ Party have marched through Brno many times in the past. Recently a court handed down fines and suspended sentences to the leaders of that party for their speeches during a public meeting last year. Former Workers’ Party chair Tomáš Vandas was among those so punished.