Czech Police President: Minimizing any actual incidents of ethnic intolerance or racism is completely unacceptable

Almost 30 NGOs and individuals called on Czech Police President Martin Červíček on 4 July to distance himself from the statement made by South Bohemian Regional Police Director Radomír Heřman at a press conference on 1 July in České Budějovice in which he said the racists at a recent demonstration who chanted "black swine" on the main square there were referring to police officers, not to Romani people. The organizations said they believed Heřman’s remarks essentially defended the chanting racists.

In a response published online, Červíček has stated that eliminating racially motivated criminal activity is absolutely one of the national police force’s top priorities. "Minimizing any actual incidents of ethnic intolerance or racism is completely unacceptable," he said in response to the NGO open letter.  

Červíček does not analyze Heřman’s statement in his declaration. The police president simply says the police fundamentally do not take manifestations of racism lightly or underestimate them and that they are not being tolerated under any circumstances. 

Heřman has since responded to the critique as well, stating that he was speaking about a specific incident in which the shouting on the square was allegedly unequivocally aimed at municipal and state police. "They were shouting in the direction of the patrols:  ‘Black swine – cover your face’. I based my answers to the questions at Monday’s press conference on footage of that incident and information from other police officers," Heřman said, adding that the phrase "black swine" could also be used in the completely different context of racism.

Police President Martin Červíček has promised that the police leadership will evaluate as soon as possible its experiences from the security measures undertaken not only in České Budějovice, but also at other similar gatherings that have taken place so far this year. Officers are reportedly prepared to deploy all the equipment and forces necessary to protect the security of people, property and public order.

News server Romea.cz presents the full statement of the Czech Police President here in translation:

Statement by the President of the Police of the Czech Republic

Czech Police President Colonel Mgr. Martin Červíček has received an open letter from 26 organizations and personages responding to the demonstration accompanied by violence that took place on Saturday, 29 June of this year. The signatories to this open letter expressed the conviction that this assembly transformed into one no longer protected by the Law on Assembly and that from the start its aim had been to provoke violence and spark inter-ethnic conflict. The signatories called on the Police of the Czech Republic to adopt the necessary measures at a strategic level to prevent violent demonstrations and the material and non-material damage that they do.

The Police President identifies with the opinion expressed by the signatories that minimizing any actual incidents of ethnic intolerance or racism is completely unacceptable. The Police President is therefore taking advantage of this opportunity to assure not just the signatories, but the public as a whole, that the Police of the Czech Republic fundamentally do not take manifestations of racism lightly or underestimate them and that they are not tolerated under any circumstances, nor will they be tolerated in future. The Police of the Czech Republic fully respect the right to assembly guaranteed by the Constitution of the Czech Republic, but will make use of all legally-approved measures should any assembly be misused for the purpose of denying or restricting the personal, political or other rights of citizens on the basis of their nationality, origin, or race, or for the purpose of inciting hatred for such reasons. The Police of the Czech Republic are prepared to deploy all the equipment and forces necessary to protect the security of people, property and public order and to prevent the illegal actions of groups or individuals who intend to provoke violent incidents on the pretext of an exchange of opinions and their civic participation in addressing public affairs. The Police of the Czech Republic also considers one of its absolutely top priorities to be the uncompromising elimination of ethnically or racially motivated criminal activity. The Police of the Czech Republic is also thoroughly prosecuting and will continue to prosecute every incident of violence against people and property that is motivated by hate. 

The leadership of the Police of the Czech Republic will evaluate, as soon as possible, its experiences from the security measures undertaken not only in České Budějovice, but also at other similar gatherings that have taken place so far this year. The Police of the Czech Republic also welcomes public discussion of this topic, as the issue of violent incidents of this kind must be critiqued in a broader social context. The resolution of this issue cannot be reduced merely to the use of the tools of police repression.