Czech city of Brno readies for protests against ultra-right extremists

The Initiative “We Don’t Want Neo-Nazis in Brno” is sending a message to the organizers of the Workers’ Youth march through Brno on 1 May that the holiday should be a time for love, not a time for hatred and neo-Nazis. The Initiative was founded one week ago along the lines of similar efforts in the Czech towns of Přerov, Ústí nad Labem and Plzeň. Dozens of organizations and people are supporting the Initiative through Facebook and the internet.

The Workers’ Youth (Dělnická mládež – DM) is an offshoot of the (neo)Nazi Workers’ Party (Dělnická strana – DS), which was recently ordered dissolved by the court. “The neo-Nazis march through Brno every year and whoever stands up to them is usually labeled an anarchist or left-wing extremist. That’s not us,” explains Václav Pecl, spokesperson for the Initiative, which is being backed or supported by NGOs such as IQ Roma Service, the Museum of Roma Culture, the Jewish Community of Brno and the ROMEA association. Support has also been expressed by the chair of the Green Party, Ondřej Liška, and sociologist Jiřina Šiklová.

The aim of the “We Don’t Want Neo-Nazis in Brno” Initiative is to make it clear that even though the authorities have permitted the DM to march through Brno, the public does not like the racist and xenophobic sentiments of these extremists. According to the information available so far, the Initiative will not cross paths with the route of the extremist march, but will bring dozens of Initiative sympathizers to the “Bronx” of Brno. “We are based on non-violence and we are not organizing a clash with the neo-Nazis, but we will not prevent anyone from standing up to them,” Pecl said.

One option is currently under discussion according to which a “happening” with concerts and theater performances would be held not far from the Museum of Roma Culture featuring representatives from other places in the country that have had experience with neo-Nazi marches. “We want to support the excluded community living in Brno’s ‘Bronx’ from within, to bring together those who disagree with the neo-Nazi marches against the Roma directly in Cejl, Bratislavska or Francouzska street,” Pecl said.

Representatives of the Initiative have reached out to city councilors and the mayor, who have received invitations to the “happening”. “We are not convening a blockade of the march, we just want to show that there are enough people among the public in Brno who disagree with racist and xenophobic tendencies,” Pecl said.

The website of the Initiative (Czech only) is http://vbrneneonacistynechceme.cz/