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October 12th, 2008
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March 5th, 2008 | Current Issue

Man on a mission
From missile defense to visa waiver status, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek spent the past week pushing controversial policy

Court gives fugitive mother custody
Father appeals milestone ruling despite charges of abuse

Ministry to ease transition of visas
Memorandum would give U.S. citizens till June to get paperwork

Speculating on the power of the president
A look at the office of the head of state, on the eve of the oath

New veterans' hospital in demand
Defense Ministry's plans for more facilities meet obstacles

Scavenging scrap a way of life
Many depend on the illegal practice as a welfare supplement

Klaus sworn in
President closes chapter of contentious political period

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BRIEFS


Last Saturday, I set out for Plzeň, west Bohemia, to cover the long anticipated neo-Nazi march. I was quite apprehensive, because Mayor Pavel Rödl — who unsuccessfully attempted to ban the event — had announced beforehand, “Anyone who wants to should come and protest against the neo-Nazis. Just leave your kids at home.” He stopped just short of suggesting torches and pitchforks.
The train from Prague looked like the remains of a catastrophic crash; obviously Czech Railways was not going to waste good new cars and provided pre-trashed ones. Two policemen were onboard but couldn’t keep an eye on the whole train at once. As local neo-Nazis boarded at every stop, they greeted the train with a Nazi salute while their comrades responded from the inside.
At one stop, three anarchists entered the car, looking around with unfocused eyes that suggested recent marijuana consumption. With suicidal stupidity, they sat down next to the neo-Nazis — who were drinking — and tried to start up a conversation. The neo-Nazis responded by attacking the anarchists with punches. A shout went up: “Sieg Heil!” and the neo-Nazis chased after the anarchists, who locked themselves in a restroom.
Upon arrival in Plzeň, we were met by a large group of policemen, who checked the identity of each extremist and arrested the perpetrators of the fight. The neo-Nazis then set off for the bus station at Emil Škoda Square where the event was to convene. They were escorted by several policemen, but got lost and had to call the organizers for directions, since none of the policemen would help.
I arrived at the square just as the 2 p.m. demonstration was scheduled to start. Of the expected 400 participants, only about 100 were present and they were easily outnumbered by journalists. Others had not made it due to train delays, so the organizers decided to postpone the event by an hour. Neo-Nazis, policemen and journalists alike waited out the rainy weather inside the bus terminal, where everything was closed and the only comfort was a lone coffee machine.
At 3 p.m., the demonstration finally started with comments from organizer Václav Bureš of the Worker’s Party: “We are here to fight for our freedom of speech.” Then hooded speakers took turns addressing the crowd of about 280 of their comrades, on topics ranging from communism to anti-Semitism.
“Some are more equal than others,” said one. “Their rich bank accounts provide for a lavish lifestyle while the working man suffers.”
“What makes Jews so special?” thundered another. “I fear they’re planning to build another Israel on our soil and we’ll be reduced to the fate of the Palestinians.”
On the move
The march, which set off at 3:30, was anti-climactic. The extremists were insulated by 1,000 policemen on foot, on horseback, with dogs and in armored vehicles. The neo-Nazis couldn’t even start a proper chant (their repeated lone attempts failed to catch on), and for a long time they walked through a deserted town.
They eventually reached the local synagogue, where Jewish activists, anarchists and citizens shouted them down. I was glad to see that many more anti-Nazi activists showed up than neo-Nazis. The police did a sterling job of keeping the two sides apart and the demonstration quickly passed through and ended in the main square at 4:30.
The police then escorted half of the neo-Nazis back to the bus station while others were taken by bus to the train. I was not so lucky and had to find my way back on foot. When I got to the station, the neo-Nazis were peacefully eating in local pubs. As soon as they got on the train for Prague, they fell asleep, tired by the day’s proceedings.
The trip was thus uneventful and I had time to wonder what makes so many young kids continue to embrace an almost exact copy of Goebbels’ propaganda. I realized that one of the hooded speakers gave a clue by hooking his convictions on recent events.  
“By decorating the Mašín brothers, the state has shown us that armed resistance is right,” he said. “As long as current political parties offer us only a corrupt version of government, we will grow ever stronger.”

RUSSIA Dmitry Medvedev won the presidential election March 2 by a landslide with 70 percent of the vote. He vowed to work closely with current President Vladimir Putin, who had originally tapped him for the position, CNN reported. Opposition leaders said they want to challenge the fairness of the election in court.

UK Prince Harry, who spent 10 weeks fighting the Taliban with the British Army in Afghanistan, returned home March 1. His deployment had been subject to a news blackout deal between the Defense Ministry and the press, the BBC reported. But when foreign media leaked his whereabouts, he had to return home lest he become a target for terrorists. It is unlikely he will return to Afghanistan soon.
SPAIN A bomb exploded in front of the ruling Socialist Party office in northern Spain just 10 days ahead of national elections, CNN reported Feb 29. Authorities blamed the blast on the Basque separatist group ETA. Thanks to an early warning, police managed to evacuate everyone in the vicinity.
UKRAINE Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom has cut supplies to Ukraine by 25 percent after talks between the two sides ended in failure, the BBC reported March 3. Gazprom says it is owed $1.5 billion. It has assured the European Commission that supplies to the EU will not be impacted as they were during the last row between the countries in 2006.
NORWAY A Global Seed Vault has been opened on the Norwegian island of Svalbard for the purpose of preserving crucial plants for future generations, the International Herald Tribune reported Feb. 28. The Arctic bank can withstand global warming as well as a direct nuclear hit, and seeds can be kept viable inside for hundreds of years.

PRISON Radio Farda correspondent Parnaz Azima was sentenced by an Iranian court to one year in prison, after being convicted of “spreading anti-state propaganda,” according to a March 2 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty press release. Azima, who has Iranian and U.S. citizenship, had returned to work at Radio Farda in Prague after she’d been kept for eight months as a “virtual prisoner” in Iran last year.

DEPORTED American brothers Joseph Carrano and Jon Moore, who had been detained for overstaying their visas, have been deported to the United States, the daily Právo reported March 4. Moore cannot return to the Czech Republic for six months, while Carrano will have to wait a full year.
HURRICANE About 5,500 national power company customers were still without electricity March 2 after a violent storm, dubbed Hurricane Emma, raged through the Czech Republic, the Czech News Agency (ČTK) reported. At the height of the storm March 1, some 920,000 households were without power.
RESTORE Prague City Hall will soon be simultaneously restoring three architectural icons, the National Museum, the National Theater and Charles Bridge, the daily Lidové noviny reported March 3. The bridge project, already under way, will be completed in 2020 at a cost of more than 222 million Kč ($13.3 million). The museum project will last until 2018 at a cost of 4.5 billion Kč. The theater restoration will begin next year.
ČUNEK Foreign Affairs Minister Karel Schwarzenberg is willing to tolerate the return of Jiří Čunek to government if the latter will provide him with all of his bookkeeping, the daily Mladá fronta Dnes reported March 4. Čunek had to resign his post in the fall amid charges of corruption.

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