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Exactly the right reaction to demonstrations
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November 14th, 2007 issue

Suddenly, it’s the season of protests.

Prague had no sooner recovered from the turmoil of the past weekend than the neo-Nazis announced plans to reconvene this coming weekend, ostensibly to mark the death of free speech. Meanwhile, the No to Bases group is planning a demonstration for the same day not only to protest the proposed radar base, but a grab-bag of other grievances, with “the poor state of democracy” in the Czech Republic topping the list.
While we’re glad to see people of every political persuasion taking to the streets, we have to disagree with the grievances of both groups. Free speech is alive and well in this country, and democracy has never looked healthier.
Which is not to downplay the seriousness of the past weekend’s events. There was potential for serious disruption and violence in the clash of opposing groups on the streets, and blood was shed. On balance, however, the weekend ended remarkably well. Prague police showed rare restraint in their handling of the crowds and making arrests, and diluted what could have been a center of violent activity in Old Town into scattered skirmishes. The Jewish community made a strong showing with its commemorative services, and a lot of students and other observers got a compelling firsthand civics lesson.
While this page is often at odds with Prague Mayor Pavel Bém, in this case we have to agree with his assessment: The Czech Republic stood united against extremism, and showed that it has the maturity to handle extremist events in a professional and democratic manner.
There was some grumbling afterward about the cost to the city, which reached a reported 15 million Kč ($817,884). While this isn’t an unreasonable complaint, it should be kept in perspective. City officials have talked about spending upward of 600 billion Kč on a bid to host the 2016 Olympics, the chances of which even the chairman of the Czech Olympic Committee describes as “close to zero.” Spending .0025 percent of that to guarantee rights of assembly and free speech is a no-brainer.
Activism is the lifeblood of democracy, a maxim demonstrated perhaps most clearly by the events of the past few years in the world’s oldest democracy, where a quiescent press and Congress abetted a war that a majority of citizens in the United States — indeed, the world — now believe was unnecessary. Just as it’s the duty of elected officials and journalists to challenge untrammeled authority, it’s the right and obligation of the citizenry to make its voice heard.
Which is why it’s heartening to see the crowds on the streets. The Czech Republic has a reputation as a country where political discourse is confined to complaint sessions in smoky pubs, and what people want more than anything is to be left alone. There’s some truth to that. But the 1989 revolution demonstrated that when the nation feels strongly about something, hundreds of thousands of people can and will come out.
There’s been nothing of that magnitude since, and we’re not suggesting that either the radar base or neo-Nazis warrant that kind of showing. What’s important is the principle of free speech, and keeping it alive in ways large and small. In that sense, what demonstrators have to say is less significant than the fact that they’re exercising their right to say it. And we applaud the city for guaranteeing that right.


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