Czech Republic/Slovakia:Racism & fascism
01 January 1991
Czech Republic/Slovakia:Racism & fascism
artdoc August=1994
Anniversary of nazi division of Czechoslovakia commemorated
The fifty-fifth anniversary of the nazi division of (then)
Czechoslovakia was commemorated by far-Right parties in both
Slovakia and the Czech Republic, exposing deep divisions between
the respective nationalisms. In Prague and Brno, rallies were
held by the Republic-Czechoslovak Republican Party (SPR-RSC). The
leader of the Republicans, Miroslav Sladek attacked German
nationalism and expansionism. He claimed that the break-up of the
Czechoslovak federation suited the interests of Germany which had
also encouraged the break-up of the former Yugoslavia. Many
Romany children stayed away from school when skinheads gathered
in Prague for a `white rock' concert. In Prerov, northern
Moravia, skinheads from the Patriotic Front Association marched
through the town chanting anti-Romany slogans. In Ostrava, also
in northern Moravia, 10 skinheads were arrested after they
attempted to attack a gathering of Romany (Prague Post 27.4.94).
Demonstrators in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia,
commemorated the war-time `puppet government' of the Roman
Catholic priest, Josef Tiso. In the central Slovak town of
Zilina, the chair of the Slovak People's Party, L'udovit Adamov,
defended Tiso's `inclination' toward nazi Germany as a `lesser
evil' amongst the options available. The deacon of Banov, western
Slovakia, said it was time for the younger generation to hear the
truth about Tiso and what he represented for the Slovak nation
(Prague Post 23.4.94).
Mein Kampf sells out
The first Czech edition of Mein Kampf, on sale in Teplice near
the German border, has sold out. According to the owner of the
RBP bookshop `it's been selling well, mainly to younger people
around 20 years old and to very old men' (Guardian 8.4.94).
Housing and the Romany in a Bohemian mining village
Romany leaders in the north Bohemian mining village of Most say
that council plans to move 1500 Romany from the Chanov housing
estate to substandard accommodation, consisting of old barracks
with communal toilets and no hot water, violates the Charter of
Human Rights in the Czech Republic. The eviction to alternative
accommodation is due to rent arrears. But residents on Chanov
point out that rent on the estate is amongst the highest in the
locality. At the same time, unemployment is running at 70 per
cent, meaning few can keep up with payments. The roots of
Chanov's problems are complex. Large numbers of Slovak Romany
were forcibly moved to Most by the Communist party in the 1980s,
to provide labour for local industry. The president of the
Democratic Union of Romanies says that `They had no experience
with quality housing or modern facilities, and ruined the
houses'. A project on the estate to improve living conditions,
funded by the state, was later held up for ridicule when the man
trusted with the state grant of $167,000, Jan Farkas, the self-
proclaimed `King of the Gypsies' disappeared. He is now serving
a prison sentence for fraud. According to a spokesperson for the
Romany Citizens Assembly, bad times, even pogroms, are ahead for
the Romany as racists use Chanov as an example of what happens
when you treat Gypsies as equals. The mayor of Most, Bofek
Valvoda denies that the evictions are racially motivated but are
a necessary move to protect city property and isolate
`unfavourable' citizens (Prague Post 23.3.94).
IRR European Race Audit no 9, July 1994. Contact: Liz Fekete
Institute of Race Relations, 2-6 Leeke Street, London WC1X 9HS
Tel: 071 837 0041