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Battle scars

City officials see violent test of 'national character'

November 14th, 2007 issue

VLADIMÍR WEISS/THE PRAGUE POST
Tensions came to a head near the Jewish quarter when an anti-Fascist holding a banner struck a neo-Nazi rival.
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Simon Chang/For The Prague Post
Police confiscated weapons from approximately 60 protesters on Jungmannovo náměstí before they were taken to jail. By the end of the day, 396 people had been detained.
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In the wake of Saturday’s attempted march by far-right extremists through Prague’s Jewish quarter, city officials, police and Jewish community members are pleased to claim victory over violence. Leading up to the Nov. 10 demonstrations, police had mapped out security efforts to contain neo-Nazi and anarchist activities, and Jewish community members had planned rallies in protest. Now, with the much-anticipated event behind them, and foreign press praising the community’s anti-Nazi efforts, these constituencies gave The Prague Post an assessment of the day’s outcome.
“I think the police of the Czech Republic did an excellent job Saturday — not only in terms of the police action but in terms of the whole operation,” says Interior Minister Ivan Langer, who was present for the day’s events. “It was an operation of national character,” he added, referring to the use of 815 reserve officers brought in from surrounding areas. “I think it was important how well individual departments of police worked together.”
The assessment by Prague police spokeswoman Eva Brožová was similarly positive.
“Police were able to prevent the [extremists] from marching through the Jewish quarter,” she says. Throughout the day, a force of 1,915 officers detained 396 people, 96 of whom were foreigners. Three were charged with assaulting a public official, and all detained individuals were released as the night progressed. “The management is quite satisfied with the way the situation was handled,” Brožová says.
The reaction from Prague Mayor Pavel Bém was also enthusiastic. On Saturday afternoon, he was already encouraged by the police response, and commented to a Post reporter on the scene, “If everything ends in a way we have seen until now, I would say that it will be a great victory.”
Bém’s statements in a subsequent press release echoed that initial assessment. “Czech society expressed that it does not agree with extremism and neo-Nazism and that it knows how to fight it, and this is positive,” he said.
Although security measures cost the city “a lot of money” (a reported 15 million Kč/$817,884), Bém says the event helped clarify legal opinion on such gatherings, and that it showed police are able to manage potentially volatile conflicts.
“We took all the necessary measures to prevent the abuse of the anniversary of Kristallnacht,” Bém said.
The reaction from Jewish community leader František Bányai was largely one of appreciation.
“We understood the difficulty of the task that lay before city officials, and trusted them as they prepared for the banned march,” he stated in a Nov. 12 press release. “Our trust was rewarded when these institutions were able to effectively resolve this complicated situation and prevent the neo-Nazis’ outlawed gathering.”
— Kimberly Ashton, Markéta Hulpachová, Hela Balínová, Naďa Černá, James Scanlon and Kimberly Hiss
contributed to this report.


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