Czech Workers' Party attacks govt, Romanies in court statement

The Czech extreme right Workers' Party (DS) criticises the government and attacks Romanies from Litvinov, north Bohemia, in its statement destined for the Supreme Administrative Court (NSS) that its spokeswoman Sylva Dostalova provided to CTK today.

The party submitted the statement at the court's request that deals with a government proposal that the party be dissolved.

The DS denies any link with neo-Nazi groups, saying that similar claims are a provocation by agents or "the secretariats of the government parties."

NSS will discuss the government proposal in a public hearing on February 18.

The Interior Ministry justifies its proposal mainly by that the DS has allegedly roofed various extreme rightist and neo-Nazi groupings, for instance, the National Resistance.

Besides, it speaks against the democratic regime in the country, the ministry says.

DS chairman Tomas Vandas has denied this, saying "it is but a claim that, however, is eventually perceived by many as truth when repeated thousand times."

The DS says defends its participation in last year's action at the Janov housing estate in Litvinov that turned into a hard clash between the extremists and police.

The DS claims that people in Litvinov complain of "an intolerable situation created by Gypsies who have entirely demolished a part of the town, terrorise peaceful inhabitants and completely fail to honour not only laws, but even the minimal norms of decent behaviour," the DS said.

The party claims that the clashes were provoked by Romanies on the order of former Human Rights and Ethnic Minorities Minister Dzamila Stehlikova.

Dostalova said the court would not comment on the statements for the time being.

Interior Minister Ivan Langer said previously the DS is an extremist party.

He cited a statement from October 17, 2008, in which the party "declared zero tolerance of the post-November (1989) political system, for whose removal it has been calling for a long time."