Photoreportage: Czech Republic - Today's unrest in North Bohemia led by hardcore neo-Nazis

The towns of Nový Bor, Varnsdorf and Rumburk in North Bohemia experienced anti-Roma events today organized by the extremist Workers’ Social Justice Party (Dělnická strana sociální spravedlnosti – DSSS). Hundreds of police officers intervened against the marches.

Many leading personalities gathered at a residential hotel occupied by Romani tenants on Severní street in Nový Bor to support the Roma there. About 200 anti-Nazi activists were on the scene. Between 300 and 500 people watched the DSSS event on the town square, but it was not clear how many of them were promoters of the ultra-right.

Nový Bor (Photo: Lukáš Houdek)

The DSSS demonstrated next in Varnsdorf, where about 500 people turned out on the town square, and then moved on to Rumburk. Romani people and their advocates also traveled to Rumburk for a gathering at 17:30. The Hate is No Solution (Nenávist není řešení) initiative convened its events to support local Roma and express disagreement with the incitement of racial hatred. Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner Monika Šimůnková also visited the region.

Varnsdorf (Photo: Lukáš Houdek)

News server Romea.cz reported on the situation online as it unfolded.

SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

21:00 – There is relative calm in Varnsdorf. We are closing this online reporting.

20:14 – About 50 anti-Roma ethnic Czechs are still at the corner of T. G. Masaryk and Partyzánů streets in Varnsdorf. Some of them are continually provoking the riot police, who sometimes draw forward so that the mob moves back before returning to position. For the time being, it seems this gang of persistently violent people will not strike at the Roma and their advocates and will not make to the Romani residential hotel in u Červeného kostela street.

20.05 – Our correspondent reports that everything is calm in Rumburk. Local ethnic Czechs went home peacefully after Vandas’s rally and for the time being there are no indications that any of them are up for repeating their recent attempt to lynch local Roma. Promoters of the Hate is No Solution initiative (Nenávist není řešení) are marching through the town carrying banners that read “Workers’ Party SS – Get out of here” or “Blacks, whites, let’s join forces”, etc.

20:00 – About 30 riot police are faced off against 50 anti-Roma demonstrators in T. G. Masaryk street in Varnsdorf. No clashes are taking place. The street is full of destroyed garbage cans, smoke bomb casings, and trash, our correspondent reports.

19:50 – The situation on T. G. Masaryk street in Varnsdorf is erratic and unpredictable. There are moments of calm and then police officers thrown stun grenades at provocateurs in the mob. There are still around 150 anti-Roma demonstrators there. In Koci street by the housing estate, 20-30 demonstrators are banging on garbage cans and doing their best to set them on fire. Police officers have surrounded them and intervened against them.

19:41 – The situation on T. G. Masaryk street in Varnsdorf has escalated once again. Our correspondent says the mob flew into a rage when police officers “knocked a young guy to the ground” when arresting him after he attempted to attack them. Police then used a very forceful concussion grenade which emits a very loud noise and harsh light.

19:35 – “Given that there were three rallies here today, I was a bit concerned that the local population would join them and that didn’t happen, so I would like to thank the citizens of Varnsdorf for staying home,” Czech Interior Minister Jan Kubice told Czech Television. However, according to our correspondents, many local ethnic Czechs were in the anti-Roma mob in Varnsdorf and joined the march not only on the square, but as it left the square and set off into the town.

19:31 – Even more police officers from the anti-conflict team have made it to the mob on T. G. Masaryk street in Varnsdorf and are speaking with demonstrators. Our correspondent says the situation seems to have slightly stabilized.

19:26 – Vandas’s rally in Rumburk has just ended. The DSSS chair had less success there in calling for hatred of the Roma than in Varnsdorf. About 250 primarily local people attend his event. Neo-Nazis were represented there only on the fringes. Our correspondent from Rumburk reports that people are dispersing peacefully there for the time being. Another correspondent tells us that the extremists are now concentrating on the battle in the streets of Varnsdorf, which is why the scene in Rumburk is so much calmer.

19:19 – Another rampaging mob of roughly 150 – 200 people has turned up on T. G. Masaryk street in Varnsdorf. About 40 riot police are faced off against them. People are shouting “What’s it gonna be?” at the police, mooning them and spitting at them.

19:13 – Police in Varnsdorf have coralled the mob of about 200 demonstrators in Partyzánů street and blocked them off from either side so they can’t go anywhere. Our correspondent says most of the people are local ethnic Czechs, not neo-Nazis. “Police arrested five of them a moment ago,” our correspondent said.

19:03 – The daily Děčín deník reports that police are pushing the demonstrators back into Varnsdorf. People in the mob are shouting, “Take them with you to Prague.”

18:51 – Vandas and the DSSS leadership are already on the square in Rumburk setting up their sound system. About 100 people have already gathered there.

18:47 – Riot police are pushing the mob back toward the square in Varnsdorf. People are throwing bottles and rocks at them, police officers are charging them on their horses and using stun grenades.

18:45 – Czech Television reports that some extremists hid their own stun grenades in the garden of one of the houses they passed by in Varnsdorf so police officers would not find them during personal searches.

18:41 – Police officers in Varnsdorf have pushed the whole mob back from the little bridge, our correspondent reports.

18:40 – The event convened by the Hate is No Solution initiative (Nenávist není řešení) in Rumburk is taking place just as it did in Nový Bor – a multicultural crowd of people are discussing, praying, and singing together. However, some organizers of the initiative are remaining in Varnsdorf because they are afraid for local Roma and are doing their best to protect them.

18:35 – The daily Děčínský deník reports that one man in the mob in Varnsdorf is shouting at police officers: “They robbed my daughter and I’m pissed off. Where were you when that happened? Now you won’t let us establish order here.”

18:30 – Police officers have pushed the less radical section of the mob back across the river and across the little bridge in Varnsdorf. They used smoke bombs that emit blue smoke, our correspondent reports.

18:25 – Mounted police have intervened against the rampaging mob in Varnsdorf. The situation has not yet been pacified, every few minutes a couple of extremists jump out of the crowd to throw rocks and other objects at the police officers. Our correspondents report that the police are waging a counter-attack.

18:20 – Police have arrested two radicals wearing Nazi symbols in Varnsdorf. “They have been taken in because they were wearing banned symbols and will evidently also be charged,” Jarmila Hrubešová, spokesperson for the North Bohemian Regional Police, told iDNES.cz.

18:13 – Riot police blocked the mob from crossing a narrow bridge on their way to the Sport in Varnsdorf. Extremists started throwing bottles, firecrackers and rocks at police officers. As always in such situations, the mob is angry and is yelling at the police officers, asking why they are protecting the Roma and not them. Police dispersed the mob with water cannon.

18:06 – Our correspondent reports that hard-core extremists are leading the rampaging mob against the Roma in Varnsdorf. “These are the same neo-Nazis who attempted the pogrom against Romani people at the Janov housing estate in Litvínov in 2008. I have spotted Tůma, Hrach and Glas,” our correspondent reports.

18:01 – “Let’s go beat them up!” a drunken man wearing overalls exhorted those around him in Varnsdorf, according to news server iDNES.cz.

17:55 – The DSSS demonstration on the square ended, but some neo-Nazis started yelling “Let’s go get ’em”, and the entire crowd of about 400 people has headed for the Sport residential hotel. Once again, no riot police are anywhere to be seen. This unannounced march is being accompanied only by police officers from the anti-conflict team. This probably means police have decided once again not to stop the hateful mob until it is as close as possible to the residential hotel so the rioters can take their anger out on the Roma verbally. The organizers of all of these anti-Romani demonstrations have repeatedly chosen the Sport as their target even though there is more than one Romani enclave in Varnsdorf.

17:40 – “We’re afraid, we have children, families. I don’t support his party, but I agree with what he is saying,” Varnsdorf resident Simona Šimonová told a reporter for iDNES.cz when asked to evaluate Vandas’s speech.

17:40 – The situation near the Sport residential hotel is calm for the time being. Many Romani people are standing outside, riot police are guarding them from a distance.

17:21 – Our correspondent says police in Varnsdorf have chosen a different tactic than in Nový Bor. While there are riot police in readiness here, they are nowhere in sight on the square where the right-wing extremists’ demonstration is underway. Several women are standing at a distance from the crowd holding a banner that reads “We don’t want violence, we want justice and security, Signed, the decent people of Varnsdorf.”

17:10 – The DSSS meeting has begin on the square in Varnsdorf. Vandas is giving the same speech that he gave in Nový Bor. “There are about 500 people here and it is more boisterous than in Nový Bor, there are more local ethnic Czechs here and they agree more with Vandas. The demonstration was opened with a minute of silence for the recently deceased hockey players,” our correspondent reports.

17:07 – About 30 minivans with riot police in them are parked near the Romani residential hotel located in the former Sport hotel in Varnsdorf. Mounted police officers and a “Black Maria” to transport anyone detained are also ready there, our correspondent reports.

16:39 – Police have stopped a bus delivering ultra-right demonstrators on its way to Varnsdorf. News server iDNES.cz reports that one of the demonstrators fired at the patrol with a gas pistol, police arrested him.

16:35 -The four neo-Nazis who wanted to get around the police cordon in Nový Bor to reach the Roma and their proponents are now suspected of committing a misdemeanor. They will give statements at the district police station in Nový Bor.

16:30 – Czech Interior Minister Jan Kubice has released a statement saying he will be on the scene of the next two extremist demonstrations in Varnsdorf and Rumburk.

16:27 – Our correspondent reports that several kilometers outside of Varnsdorf, police officers are searching vehicles transporting right-wing extremists. As we reported previously, police have so far found machetes, various knives, a collapsible nightstick, a baseball bat, and an axe.

15:55 – The Nový Bor town hall is giving a briefing, the daily Českolipský deník reports. Mayor of Nový Bor Jaromír Dvořák is thanking the police for their professionalism. He is also thanking citizens of the town for not joining the extremist demonstration and for behaving politely. “We carefully prepared for today’s event together with police and those efforts have borne fruit. Nevertheless, this is not over either for me or for the town counselors. We must ask ourselves where we go from here. On Monday there will be a large meeting with representatives of the Romani minority, the Probation and Mediation Service, and the Agency for Social Inclusion. I am aware that the citizens are disgusted by this worrisome crime,” the mayor said, adding, “I support the steps the government is taking, such as linking parents’ welfare to their children’s school attendance, or the change to the gambling law.”

15:54 – News server iDNES.cz reports that police officers are searching the trunks of vehicles traveling to Varnsdorf. They have found machetes, various knives, a collapsible nightstick, a baseball bat, and an axe. The town is still calm for the time being. Music is being played on the square.

15:49 – Some of the police forces have started heading to Varnsdorf, but the police helicopter is still monitoring Nový Bor, our correspondent reports.

15:41 – Five neo-Nazis attempted to run around the police cordon in Nový Bor in order to get to the human rights activists and Romani people from the other side. Police have detained four of them and are checking their identification.

15:40 – Our correspondent reports that some of the neo-Nazis in Nový Bor have headed back from the bus station to the demonstration supporting Romani people and verbally abused the demonstrators from a distance of about 10 – 20 meters away. Riot police surrounded the opponents of Nazism and protected them from the hateful mob. Around 80 anti-Nazi activists responded to the Nazi fanatics with the following slogans: “Do you want a White Bohemia? Wait for the snow!”, “Workers’ Party out”, “Blacks, whites, let’s join forces”.

15:20 – Czech Interior Minster Jan Kubice has told journalists he is satisfied with the course of the event in Nový Bor so far. In his view the police measures may seem like overkill, but they are not.

15:19 – The extremist march has passed very close to the gathering in Nový Bor organized by the Hate is No Solution initiative (Nenávist není řešením). Police separated the groups using three vans and a cordon of riot police. The ultra-right promoters headed for the bus station and their event was officially ended. Two more events await them in Varnsdorf and Rumburk.

15:01 – Our correspondent reports that the neo-Nazi march set off through Nový Bor chanting its usual slogans – “Nationally, radically, socially”, or “Gypsies get to work”. In the end the extremists did not go past the bar. They then headed for bus station.

15:01 – DSSS representatives have finished their speeches on the square. The extremist march is set to take off on its previously announced route through the town, including down Purkyňova street.

14:45 – The right-wing extremists want to go to Purkyňova street in Nový Bor, where the bar where the machete attack was committed on 7 August is located.

14:40 – Czech Television reports that the events on the square in Nový Bor are being followed by people from the Violence is No Solution initiative (Násilí není řešení). They include famous personalities such as Green Party chair Ondřej Liška, who regularly attends anti-racist demonstrations. Police have not yet had to intervene.

14:25 – News server iDNES.cz reports that Czech Interior Minister Jan Kubice is in Nový Bor with Deputy Interior Minister Hruška. “I wanted to see the situation on the scene. Nothing here is a surprise to me. I expected such a speech – ‘nothing but the nation’,” he said, commenting on Vandas’s speech.

14:19 – One of the ethnic Czechs watching the extremist event in Nový Bor told the daily Českolipský deník: “We don’t support them but we know the problem exists and we want someone to pay attention to it.” He went on to talk about high unemployment in
he region, which in his view is sparking social problems. He sees the main culprit as the government, which has not solved these problems for too long now.

14:18 – Vandas is giving his usual speech, fulminating against the Government and the Roma. At the start of his speech he invited curious onlookers standing on the sidewalks not to be afraid and to come closer, but only a few did so. Estimates of the number of people on the square in Nový Bor range between 300 and 500, and it is not clear how many are promoters of extremist solutions.

14:10 – Local human rights defenders hung a banner on a tree with a crossed-out DSSS logo on it. Two neo-Nazis tore it down and police officers are now checking their identities. A banner reading “No Violence” remains in the tree.

14:00 – Two older ethnic Czechs holding banners with crossed-out swastikas and the slogans “STOP neo-Nazism” and “No gaming rooms in Nový Bor” provoked a response from the neo-Nazi mob as it marched down Masaryk street. DSSS marchers yelled at them: “You fuckers…you aren’t Czechs, you’re Jews…fuck off!” The neo-Nazi march made it to náměstí Míru and DSSS chair Vandas started shouting his usual demagoguery into the microphone.

13:48 – Police Vice-President Vladislav Husák has arrived on náměstí Míru in Nový Bor. Vandas and Štěpánek, leaders of the extremist DSSS, are testing their sound equipment there. About 200 ethnic Czechs are watching from the sidewalks. Meanwhile, over in Varnsdorf and Rumburk everything is calm for the time being. Police officers have deployed hundreds of men and two helicopters to watch over the situation.

13:48 – About 150 local ethnic Czechs are waiting on the square in Nový Bor for the neo-Nazi march. The center of the square is roped off with police tape. Other local ethnic Czechs will probably join the extremist march. The situation is unpredictable because many people are standing on the sidewalks and it’s not clear whether they are promoters of the anti-Roma event or just curious onlookers.

13:43 – The neo-Nazis have started their march in Nový Bor. They are shouting the slogans “Nothing but the nation,” “Bohemia for the Czechs”, “Gypsies get to work,” etc. Neo-Nazis at the head of the march are carrying a banner reading “Stop Black Racism”.

13:40 – Those assembled in support of the Roma in Nový Bor have sung the St. Vitus hymn (Svatováclavský chorál). Father František Lízna then spoke. He said he first welcomed the Romani nation in 1992 and added that “The most important thing of all is to help the poor.”

13:35 – A train transporting more participants in the hate demonstration convened by the DSSS has arrived at the Nový Bor station. The number of demonstrators is now between 300 and 400. The crowd is slowly setting off on its march through the town. Our correspondent says the crowd predominantly features neo-Nazis. There are perhaps around 100 locals also marching.

13:25 – About 100 local residents are standing on the sidewalks around the ultra-right promoters at the train station in Nový Bor.

13:19 – According to the daily Českolipský deník, there are already around 200 right-wing extremists at the train station waiting for the next train bringing more participants to the ultra-right event. Our correspondent, however, says he only sees a maximum of 130 neo-Nazis there. News server iDNES.cz reports that according to the flags they are carrying, there are DSSS members here from Prague, Znojmo and Litvínov. A police helicopter is hovering over the train station.

13:17 – The director of police in Görlitz, Germany is also in Nový Bor because extremists from abroad are expected to arrive here. There are two patrols of German police officers patrolling the access roads to the town, the daily Děčínský deník reports.

13:05 – News server iDNES.cz reports that allegedly around 100 DSSS promoters are waiting at the train station in Nový Bor for the march to start, but our correspondent reports that there definitely cannot be more than 50 neo-Nazis on the scene. An anti-conflict team and dozens of riot police are also there. The extremists are carrying the flag of their party and banners reading “Gypsies are attacking – We say enough!”

13:02 – Organizers of the gathering convened by the Hate is No Solution initiative (Nenávist není řešení) at the Romani residential hotel on Severní street in Nový Bor have started making speeches. About 200 anti-Nazi people have gathered here to support the Roma.

12:43 – About 30 promoters of the ultra-right have gathered at the train station. The DSSS event is to start at 13:00. Police reportedly want to check the identification of the DSSS promoters and search them for weapons.

12:27 – Famous figures such as clergyman František Lízna, therapist Věra Roubalová-Kostlánová of the InBáze Berkat association, Czech Senator Jaromír Štětina (TOP 09), Matěj Stropnický of the Green Party, human rights activist Markus Pape, and Martin Šimáček, director of the Czech Agency for Social Inclusion in Roma Localities, have arrived in front of the Romani residential hotel in Severní street. The Romani residents have prepared modest refreshments for them. Those gathered are discussing the Romani residents’ social situation with them and how they would like to address it.

12:15 – Police have decided to show the anti-Nazi activists that things will not be so easy for them today. Their bus was stopped on the way to Nový Bor and everyone’s identification was checked.

12:03 – Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner Monika Šimůnková has arrived in Nový Bor. She is at the town hall.

12:02 – Vlasta Suchánková, spokesperson for the Liberec Regional Police, says police have deployed 600 men for today’s events, including an anti-conflict team, dogs, and special forces units. She believes foreign right-wing extremists will also be on the scene.

11:51 – Roughly 80 participants in the nonviolent assembly convened by the Hate is No Solution initiative (Nenávist není řešení) have gathered next to the “Romani buildings” on Severní street in Nový Bor (near the bus station). There are several clergy also present, dressed for worship.

11:50 – Another 10 police minivans are parked in B. Egermanna street in Nový Bor.

11:43 – The first anti-Nazi activists are already in Nový Bor at the Romani homes.

11:41 – The Hate is No Solution initiative (Nenávist není řešení) reports on its website that a van of riot police and a personal vehicle have collided at the turnoff from Děčín near the village of Marvaltice and traffic is now bumper to bumper.

11:40 – Police officers are getting into formation near the train station in Nový Bor. Several mounted officers can be seen as well as about six large vans of riot police.

11:30 – DSSS Vice-Chair Kotáb is in Nový Bor.

11:26 – Our correspondent reports that police officers are searching vehicles driving into Nový Bor, primarily their luggage racks and trunks.