Workers' Youth march through Brno, Czech Republic, will follow the extremist DSSS model

Extremists from the Workers’ Youth (Dělnická mládež -DM) association, which is connected to the DSSS party, will be meeting on 1 May in Brno’s Koliště Park in the city center. It is not clear whether they will then march down Francouzská street, which is predominantly inhabited by Roma people. A court has permitted the march to take place in that part of town. Today municipal registrar Pavel Loutocký said city hall is now negotiating with the organizers to change the route of their march. Police are preparing massive security measures.

“Naturally, we have an interest in making sure this event takes place peacefully. We are therefore proposing another alternative, which is that the march proceed down Merhautova and Milady Horákové streets,” the registrar said.

The radicals have already announced the date and place of the event on their web pages and through the Facebook social networking site. Among the links to the group’s promoters, one can also read messages on the site such as “The route through the Bronx could be interesting” or “1 May is lover’s day, games with police again to play”.

Police President Petr Lessy said on a recent visit to Brno that he is not in favor of annual 1 May assemblies by radicals in the city. Lessy stressed that hundreds of police officers are being prepared for the event and will intervene harshly if necessary.

Long discussions have been held over the route for the march. The DM has announced two meetings for 1 May in the center of Brno, evidently out of concern that one or the other might be banned. The authorities did their best to prevent the gatherings but their objections did not succeed in court.

The event will be held under the motto “Against the Invasion of Foreign Workers and the Exodus of Our People.” The DM is connected to the DSSS party, whose predecessor, the Workers’ Party (Dělnická strana – DS) was dissolved by the Czech Supreme Administrative Court because of its extremist, ultra-right approach. During the past four years, radicals have held two 1 May marches in Brno, neither of which took place without conflict.

Six members of the DS leadership and its then-chair, Tomáš Vandas (who is currently the DSSS chair) have been fined and given conditional sentences by a first-instance court for statements they made at a previous 1 May demonstration in Brno. However, that verdict was overturned on appeal; their prosecution will resume at the Brno Municipal Court this May.