Czech Republic: Ultra-right registers name of anti-government movement, real founders call them "parasites"

Yesterday, news server Týden.cz reported that the ultra-right extremist Workers’ Social Justice Party (Dělnická strana sociální spravedlnosti – DSSS) registered a civic association with the name “Holešov Appeal” (Holešovská výzva) with the Czech Interior Ministry on 3 April. The real founders of the Appeal, who have been convening anti-government demonstrations of thousands of people across the Czech Republic under the name, were startled to learn that the DSSS had beaten them to the punch on registering the association and have announced on their website that they will be filing suit today.

The information registered with the Czech Interior Ministry shows that DSSS Vice-Chair Jiří Štěpánek is a member of the newly-registered association’s preparatory committee. The association’s address is identical to that of the DSSS and its predecessor, the Worker’s Party, which was dissolved by the courts in 2010 for inciting violence and links to Nazism.

A member of the DSSS leadership anonymously communicated to news server Týden.cz that the party registered the association in order to attract more patrons. “It’s about giving it some order. We don’t want the whole thing to get watered down and lose its face. Dissatisfied people can certainly come to us,” the unidentified party leader said.

DSSS chair Tomáš Vandas launched his presidential campaign at the end of March with rallies in Chomutov and Kadaň. He explained his almost year-long head start on the election by saying he wants to collect the necessary 50 000 signatures on a petition making it possible for him to run, which won’t be easy. Týden.cz is speculating that the party’s step of registering the “Holešov Appeal” could increase the likelihood of a Vandas candidacy.

The real founders of the informal “Holešov Appeal”, who have been demanding that the government resign and that Czech President Václav Klaus abdicate, were surprised by the DSSS move. News server Týden.cz reports that Slávek Popelka of Nové Město in Moravia, one of the founders and original signatories of the appeal, called the DSSS “trash” in response to the news.

“My own colleagues have also applied to register the name, but evidently they were too late. We had a lot of work to do with designing and distributing fliers and posters. We’re amateurs, we don’t have a firm organizational structure yet, but we want to do something about the state of society,” Popelka told Týden.cz. “We do not intend to negotiate with Vandas. We did manage to register an internet domain name where we will continue to present our events.”

The leadership of the real “Holešov Appeal” also distanced themselves from the DSSS on that website yesterday. Their statement says the members of the “Holešov Appeal” have nothing in common with the DSSS, which is simply trying to parasitically take advantage of the movement by registering the association in its name.

“The police, state prosecutor and court should take action without our having to file charges. In my opinion, it’s unfair competition for them to parasitically take over this brand name,” Jaroslav Petr, spokesperson for the “Holešov Appeal”, told Czech Television.

The real organizers of the appeal have convened protest assemblies in Prague and other towns once again. They are calling for the government to resign, for a temporary caretaker government to be named, and for that new government to start preparations for “fair, democratic” elections, as well as to legislate a referendum process. In addition, they want to put a stop to church property restitution and ongoing reforms to the education, health care, pension and welfare systems. The Workers’ News (Dělnické Listy), a propaganda tool of the ultra-right extremist DSSS, has quoted DSSS Vice-Chair Štěpánek as saying that the upcoming demonstrations were organized by the registered association.