Police prevent clashes at Přerov march

Just days after a report praised steps taken to combat extremism, police were able to prevent clashes between far-right demonstrators and members of the Roma minority in Přerov, central Moravia, June 25.

Some 200 extremists took part in a march organized by the Workers Party for Social Justice (DSSS), successor to a party banned from politics last year.

Hundreds of police were deployed to prevent clashes, as were mounted patrols and helicopters. Police outnumbered demonstrators, according to the Czech News Agency.

The extremist marchers assembled in the central square to make their way through the town. Along the route, they were met by a counter-demonstration organized by the Antifa group, an anarchist organization that regularly stages events to counter right-wing extremism, and the local Roma community. The counter-protest was also supported by the NGO People in Need and Olomouc Archbishop Jan Graubner.

Police intervention came just days after a Czech Helsinki Committee report praised steps to combat extremist groups including the February 2010 banning of the DSSS precursor party, the Workers Party, and the stiff prison sentences handed down after a 2008 firebombing of a Roma family home in Vítkov that left a 2-year-old girl severely burned.

The rest of the report was much less kind, citing the appointment of right-wing advisers to key posts in the prime minister's office and Education Ministry as well as the disproportionate effect government austerity plans will have on the poor and minority groups.

Police officers seized one firearm, two telescopic batons, three knives and one pair of brass knuckles at the June 25 march, according to police spokeswoman Michaela Sedláčková. There were no arrests.

Přerov was the scene of violent street clashes between extremists and Roma in April 2009.

Benjamin Cunningham can be reached at
bcunningham@praguepost.com