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National Guard recruits soldiers

Officials wary that paramilitary group could become a threat

By Markéta Hulpachová
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
May 14th, 2008 issue

Whether they’re protesting minorities or berating communist sympathizers at May Day demonstrations, members of the right-wing National Party know how to make themselves visible.
The tiny, nonparliamentary party with less than 1 percent of national support made local headlines after its May 1 escapade at the Výstaviště exposition grounds in Prague 7, where party Chairwoman Petra Edelmannová’s “Alpha team” made its first public appearance.
With black suits and buzz cuts, the five members of this squad of burly, middle-aged men escorted Edelmannová through the wary crowd, protecting her against potential assailants as  members of her party spread anti-Bolshevik rhetoric.
When they’re not shielding their young political leader from harm, the members of the Alpha team are known as the National Guard, a fledgling paramilitary organization with a declared goal to “perform patrol and guard tasks wherever requested by an oppressed and endangered Czech or Moravian.”
Nearly a year after its founding, the National Guard (NG) is stirring up controversy by recruiting highly experienced former soldiers of the Czech Army.
Last month, the NG appointed former professional soldier René Langr as its deputy commander. According to his résumé on the NG Web site, Langr graduated from the Vyškov Military Academy, participated in foreign exercises and missions, and attended the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy in Texas.
‘Ready to protect’
The NG also appointed Martin Novotný, a Brno Military Academy graduate and professional soldier specializing in information technologies, as its division commander.
In an essay about joining the NG, Novotný compares himself to a watchdog guarding the “sheep” (law-abiding citizens) from the “wolves” (evil-doers).
“I am not a soldier or a policeman. I don’t carry a weapon. Most of the time, I don’t even wear a uniform. I’m a regular citizen,” writes provincial commander Michal Kubík. “Nevertheless, I am your shield, ready to protect you in distress and during natural disasters.”
Virtual threat
With its nationalist, paramilitary mindset, the NG exists on the brink of legality.
While keeping a close eye on its activities, the government cannot ban the group because the NG is not registered as an official organization, said Interior Ministry spokesman Vladimír Řepka.
“Security officials are monitoring the NG’s activities and trying to ensure that the NG does not become a potential threat,” he added. “At this point, the NG is nothing but a virtual reality, because no one has approached the Interior Ministry to register such a political party or civic organization. Even the National Party hasn’t contacted us to change its statutes and declare the NG’s existence.”
Although the group claims to be unarmed, its official gear includes a retractable rescue knife with a hooked tip. Because the NG is unregistered, its members are legally regarded as individuals, and possessing such weapons is therefore legal, Řepka said.
Outlawing the NG would only be possible if the organization breached the Czech Constitution through illegal arming or by holding military training exercises.
“The government could only interfere at the moment they undertake activities that are exclusively granted to state organs,” said Charles University political scientist Zdeněk Zbořil, an expert on political extremism.
Despite the group’s recent claims of attracting 2,000 applicants, Zbořil describes the NG, and its parent National Party as a miniature organization.
“Their only chance to present themselves is the media,” he said. “They are pretending to be political soldiers, but their game has no popularity here.”

Markéta Hulpachová can be reached at mhulpachova@praguepost.com


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