In 2013, numerous Anti-Romani protests took place across the Czech Republic.[14] This was after a Czech couple was attacked by 5 Romani on 18 May 2013.[15] The couple was hospitalized after the attack.[16] The protests in some cities were described as a "street war".[17]
Prior to the protests, Amnesty International and the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) had raised concerns about the safety of Romani people in the Czech Republic. The ERRC had documented that between January 2008 and December 2012, at least 48 violent attacks against Roma had been documented.[18][19] A notable attack was the 2009 Vítkov arson attack which left 3 people injured including a 3-year-old girl who suffered life-threatening burns on 80% of her body.[20][21] Human rights groups had also accused Czech authorities of placing a disproportionately high number of Roma children into schools for the disabled.[22] According to a 2010 opinion poll, 68% of Czechs have antipathy towards Romani.[23] The survey also found that 82% Czechs oppose any form of a "special care of Roma rights", 83% of Czechs consider Romani asocial, and 45% of Czechs would support the expulsion of Romani people from the Czech Republic.[24]
A 2011 poll, which followed a number of violent attacks by Romani perpetrators against ethnic Czech victims, reported that 44% of Czechs are afraid of Roma people.[25] The poll also reported 90% of Czechs do not want Roma people as neighbours.[26] The polls in 2011 came after a violent series of protests took place after an incident on 7 August 2011 when staff members of a gambling hall in Nový Bor were attacked by multiple Roma welding machetes.[27] The 2011 protests became more widespread and violent after an attack on 21 August 2011 where 20 Roma with machetes attacked 6 Czech men in Rumburk. A survivor of the attack, Michal Němeček, told Deutsche Welle "They shouted ‘you white bastards' at us. We definitely weren't the ones who provoked the attack, six against 20? We would have been crazy. They were just walking along the street and we were the first ones they ran into".[28]
Of the estimated 250,000 Roma in the Czech Republic in 2011, one third lived in ghettos and 90% were reported to be unemployed.[6] The unemployment rate of the Czech Republic in 2013 was 6.95%.[29]
Protests
May
On 29 May 2013, after 5 Romas were charged for an assault on a married couple in the town of Duchcov,[16] 800 protesters marched onto the streets. Organizer of the march, Jindřich Svoboda, stated that the event should be "a peaceful event without violence". However, a half an hour after Svoboda's speech, the protesters marched towards the southern part of the city which housed a large Roma population. At 7pm, they were confronted by police. Protesters armed with baseball bats and poles attempted to push through the police line while shouting: "Let us at them!" By 8pm, 2 protesters were arrested and the bats and poles were confiscated.[30] 3 other people were convicted after making Facebook posts saying that they were going to "kill them all" or that "I'm going to sharpen my knives".[31]
June
On 21 June, a dispute between Roma and Czech parents took place at a playground near the Máj housing estate. Up to 100 people joined the growing mob.[32] The dispute caused the protests to become more widespread.[33]
On 22 June, riot police clashed with right-wing protesters after the protesters had staged a demonstration. The demonstration took a violent turn when the protesters had tried to cross the police line separating them from Romanis.[34] By the end of the clashes, 3 protesters, 2 officers and one photographer had been wounded.[35] 22 protesters were also arrested.[a][36]
Anti-Roma protesters at Přemysl Otakar II Square in České Budějovice
On 29 June, hundreds of Neo-Nazis marched towards the Máj housing estate which housed 350 Romanis. The march was in response to the dispute on the 18th of June. As they marched, they were cheered on by local residents.[37] They, protesters tried to break through the police barrier. After a violent clash that left dozens of people on both sides wounded, the police arrested 40 people.[37]
July
On 1 July, in the city of České Budějovice, hundreds of protesters marched to a neighborhood with a dense Roma population. After encountering police forces, the protesters chanted racist slogans and threw bottles and stones. After hours of clashes with the police who used smoke bombs, tear gas, and riot equipment, the protest was disbursed with 39 people being detained.[38]
On 5 July, Czech police setup a checkpoint in Lišov due to the announcement of a planned protest on July 6.[39]
On 6 July, 300 protesters clashed with police officers in České Budějovice. Per police spokesman Jiří Matzner, 3 police officers were injured during the clashes. Czech Police detained 136 protesters. [b][41] Police also confiscated baseball bats and poles from protesters.[40] 3 protesters were later charged with assault against an officer.[42] The city itself was described to have been "turned into a fortress".[41]
On 10 July, a meeting was held by municipal leaders in a sports hall in České Budějovice in order to discuss the growing anti-Romani unrest in the city.[43]
On 13 July, a crowd of 300 protesters in České Budějovice staged a demonstration. After clashes with Czech police, 3 protesters were charged with attacking police officers. Roughly 60 other protesters were also detained by police but were released shortly after.[44] In Duchcov, 50 protesters marched in support of the protesters from České Budějovice.[45]
On 14 July, Czech police arrested a man in České Budějovice who attempted to light a Roma apartment building on Novohradská Street on fire.[46]
On 18 July, Czech police were called after 2 packages resembling bombs were found in a Roma ghetto in Machnín by local resident Milan Gábor.[47] Police spokesperson in České Budějovice Jiří Matzner, released a report which stated that a young Czech woman had been assaulted by a Roma at a playground and that none of the suspects had been taken into custody. The incident further increased anger against the Romani people of the Czech Republic.[48]
On 25 July, the Democratic Workers’ Party (Czech: Demokratická strana pracujících) announced that the party was preparing to hold 13 protests in the cities of Bohumín, České Budějovice, Duchcov, Frýdek-Místek, Havířov, Krupka, Litvínov-Janov, Most-Chanov, Ostrava, Prague, Přerov, Ústí nad Labem, and Vítkov before the end of the year.[49]
On 27 July, 30 members of the Czech Lions (Čeští lvi) gathered in Prague to listen to a speech by Pavel Sládek Matějný. Counter-protesters interrupted Pavel's speech by chanting: "We don’t want neo-Nazis here!" At 6pm local time, everybody went home without the police having to interfere.[50]
August
On 3 August, in the town of Vítkov, 300 protesters[c] marched through the city's streets, shouting slogans such as "Bohemia to Bohemia" or "Our streets, our cities". The protesters then attempted to get to the Roma assembly. However, Police officers pushed them out of Husova Street in order to prevent a confrontation with the Roma protesters there.[51]
On 23 August, Czech police announced that they had arrested over 230 protesters over the past three weekends.[53]
On 24 August, seven protests took place simultaneously in the cities of Ostrava, Duchcov, České Budějovice, Jičín, Plzeň, Brno, Děčín and Varnsdorf.[54] In Ostrava, 1,500 protesters attempted to break into houses that were inhabited by Roma. After a clash with police, the crowd was broken up by tear gas. Over 60 people were detained while many protesters and police officers were wounded.[55] The protests were condemned by Czech president Miloš Zeman.[56] Czech officials said that some cities resembled a warzone.[57][58]
On 25 August, a total of 2,000 protesters participated in multiple simultaneous protests in the cities and towns of Ostrava, Duchcov, České Budějovice, Jičín, Plzeň and Brno and clashed with Roma counter protesters.[59] In Ostrava, after clashes with police officers, over 60 people were arrested while another 25 people were arrested in Plzeň.[60]
September
On 1 September, 300 protesters[d] marched over a chalk drawing of the Romani flag in Duchcov while chanting "This is our home" and "Bohemia for Czechs".[61]
On 6 September, Roma activists requested more protection against attacks from extremists protesters.[63]
On 26 September, an Anti-Roma rally took place in České Budějovice along Lannová třída and Na Sadech street.[33]
On 27 September, a crowd of 1,000 protesters attempted to break into a dormitory in Ostrava where many Roma lived. Police officers clashed with protesters who threw rocks, bottles, and shot fireworks at police officers, causing casualties. After an hour, the police detained 21 people and charged one with assault. Police spokeswoman Gabriela Holčáková said that the police only intervened after the crowd did not respond to police calls to disburse.[64]
On 28 September (celebrated as Czech Statehood Day), three simultaneous protests took place in the cities and towns of Krupka, Prague and Vítkov. In Krupka, around 350 Romani counter-protesters clashed with Neo-Nazis who were distributing flyers for the Workers' Party of Social Justice.[65]
October
On 6 October, hundreds of Roma staged a protest in Prague, carrying banners that read "We are Roma" and "Stop pogroms against the Roma".[66]
On 28 October, between 200 and 300 protesters marched towards two hostels in Ostrava at 2pm CEST. 500 Romani showed up to counterprotest. Czech police successfully kept the two groups from clashing.[67] At the Old Town Square in Prague, 50 members from UNITED for Intercultural Action marched in support of the Roma counter protesters. After chanting slogans, they hosted a banner in front of the Old Town Hall which read: "OSTRAVA, STOP NAZI MARCH".[68]
November
On 12 November, Czech police charged a 16-year-old girl with assault after she had thrown bricks and stones at police officers during an Anti-Roma protest in Ostrava.[69]
On 28 November, Czech police reported that the protests near the Máj housing estate had "calmed down" for the first time in 5 months.[70]
Aftermath
Reactions by Czech officials
The Mayor of Duchcov, Jitka Bártová said in an interview that the events on May 29 "cannot be overlooked" and that the events could "trigger a war of blacks against whites".[71] The Mayor of České Budějovice, Juraj Thoma said that the protests "could not be prevented".[72]
David Tišer, a member of the Czech government's council on the Roma minority told Deutsche Welle in an interview: "These are not just marches by extremists. Regular citizens are joining in as well. And this is what is dangerous. This is why the foreign media are interested. This is why you are talking to me today."[7]
Czech senator Pavel Lebeda, said that the protests were a "sad that expressions of citizens' dissatisfaction with the violent and property crime of gypsies, their laziness, abuse of the social system and inability to live together are immediately classified as extremism".[73]
On 28 June 2013, Senator Tomio Okamura of the Dawn – National Coalition stated in a text message: "The gypsies should strive for their own state. Let's help them do it. It's not the fault of the neo-Nazis, the Czechs or the Turks that gypsies are perceived pejoratively today; rather, it is the gypsies' disrepute".[74] He then suggested that the Czech government should deport the Romani people to India.[75]
On 2 August 2013, the Minister of the Interior Martin Pecina, announced that the Czech Police would increase their number of officers from 1,000 to 40,000 by 2014 in response to the protests.[76]
Reactions by Czech organizations
Zdeněk Ryšavý of Romea.cz dubbed the protests as "The largest hunt for Roma in the modern history of the Czech Republic".[77]
On 24 August 2013, IUSTITIA set up a hotline for Roma who had been attacked during the protests.[78]
On 10 September 2013, the Czech Helsinki Committee wrote a report which said that the position of the Roma in the Czech Republic is "rapidly deteriorating" and that negative anti-Roma sentiments are growing and that Roma citizens are being labeled as the culprits of various problems in Czech society which is resulting in more and more people turning their anger against the Roma population. The report also noted that anti-Roma demonstrations and marches participates include not only members of the Czech far-right, but also more and more people from the general population of the Czech Republic.[79]
Per the Security Information Service, anti-Roma sentiments among ordinary citizens of the Czech Republic could potentially represent a greater danger than extremist groups.[80] Of the 272 Anti-Roma protests in 2013 that were organized by political extremists, 132 were organized by right-wing extremists and 140 were organized by left-wing extremists.[81]
International reactions
On 18 July 2013, Janez Lenarčič, the director of Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, called on Czech authorities address segregation and social exclusion to help prevent anti-Roma incidents. He then added: "The measures taken by the Czech police to protect all citizens show that authorities have the resolve to prevent further escalation of racist violence and manifestations of hatred. I am, however, very concerned about the significant support far-right activists have enjoyed from ordinary citizens. This is an indication that the problems facing the Roma minority have yet to be addressed at their core".[82]
On 4 August 2013, German newspaper Die Welt wrote that the Anti-Roma protests had become a sort of "Czech national sport" due to the fact that both political radicals and ordinary citizens had been participating in them.[85]
CBC News described the situation in the Czech Republic as the "Wild East".[86]
On 7 October 2013, the Romedia Foundation, a Romani non-governmental organization based in Budapest, that the protests in the last two months "have been solely addressed towards the exclusion and eradication of Roma people" and that the protests and rallies had a "considerable, visible increase in followers of the neo-Nazi and extremist mentalities" since the 2011 protests.[87]
On 4 April 2014, European Network Against Racism reported that the "frequency and size" of anti-Roma marches and protests in the Czech Republic surged in 2013 compared to previous years.[89]
České Budějovice is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 97,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše.
Anti-capitalist Protests in Prague took place during the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank summit on September 27, 2000, in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic.
Vítkov is a town in Opava District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,600 inhabitants.
Lety concentration camp was a World War II internment camp for Romani people from Bohemia and Moravia during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia. It was located in Lety.
Hockey Club Banes Motor České Budějovice is a professional men's ice hockey club based in České Budějovice, Czech Republic. It is a member of the Czech Extraliga (ELH) after reforming when the original club, now known as Mountfield HK, moved to Hradec Králové over a sponsorship dispute. Home stadium of the team Banes Motor České Budějovice is Budvar Arena in České Budějovice.
The Czech National Football League, known as Chance Národní Liga due to sponsorship reasons, is the second level professional association football league in the Czech Republic. Before 2013 it was known as 2. liga or Druhá liga. The top two teams each season are eligible for promotion to the Czech First League.
Romani people are an ethnic minority in the Czech Republic, currently making up around 2% of the population. Originally migrants from North Western India sometime between the 6th and 11th centuries, they have long had a presence in the region. Since the creation of Czechoslovakia in 1918, the Romani population have experienced considerable hardship, having been a main target of Nazi extermination programs during World War II, and the subject of forced relocation, sterilisation, and other radical social policies during the Communist era. In the successor state, the Czech Republic, challenges remain for the Romani population with respect to education and poverty, and there are frequent tensions with the white majority population over issues including crime and integration.
The 2007–08 Czech First League, known as the Gambrinus liga for sponsorship reasons, was the fifteenth season of Czech Republic's top-tier of football. The season started on 4 August 2007 and concluded on 17 May 2008.
The 2004–05 Czech First League, known as the Gambrinus liga for sponsorship reasons, was the twelfth season of top-tier football in the Czech Republic.
The Workers' Party of Social Justice is a Czech political party, often described as the major far-right extremist party in the Czech Republic. The party is not represented in any legislative body in the Czech Republic and its biggest electoral success so far has been a gain of 1.14% in the Czech legislative election in 2010. Some of the high-ranking party officials, including a Prague party leader, have been associated with neo-Nazi groups such as Národní odpor, the Czech subsidiary of an international militant neo-Nazi group. In spring 2009 the petition for the ban on the party was dismissed by the Czech Supreme Administrative Court, because, as the presiding judge stated, the applicant didn't manage to provide sufficient evidence in what was seen as a botched application. Following violent attacks against Czech minorities by far-right extremists, the government filed a more detailed petition for the ban, which was discussed by the Czech Supreme Court in January and February 2010. The party was banned, making it the first instance of banning a party for its ideology in the modern history of the Czech Republic. The party was transformed into a "Party of Citizens of the Czech Republic" and the party was renamed to Workers' Party of Social Justice. The party's program was kept the same with small adjustments.
The Vítkov arson attack was an arson attack that occurred in Vítkov in the Czech Republic during the night of 18 to 19 April 2009. Three Molotov cocktails were thrown through the windows of a house inhabited by a Roma family. Three people were injured. The most seriously injured was a three-year-old girl named Natálie, who suffered life-threatening burns on 80% of her body.
After World War I, the Romani people in Czechoslovakia formed an ethnic community, living on the social periphery of the mainstream Czechoslovakian population.
The 2012–13 Czech First League, known as the Gambrinus liga for sponsorship reasons, was the 20th season of the Czech Republic's top-tier football league. The defending champions were Liberec, who won their third Czech First League title the previous season.
Jakub Polák was a Czech anarchist and anti-racism activist. Polák was involved particularly in Roma rights and squatters' rights issues.
Mountfield Hokejový Klub is a professional men's ice hockey club based in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic. It is a member of the Czech Extraliga. The club was formed after the original HC Mountfield was unable to resolve a sponsorship dispute.
On 19 June 2021, Stanislav Tomáš, a Romani man in Teplice, Czech Republic, died after several police officers pinned him to the ground and knelt on his neck for several minutes. The death was filmed and the video went viral, leading to comparisons with the murder of George Floyd in the United States and led to protests against antiziganism.
Miroslav Tetter was a Czech politician and academic. He was a representative of the South Bohemian Region from 2000 to 2008 and Mayor of České Budějovice from 1998 to 2006 and again in 2010. In his earlier political career he served in the České Budějovice City Council.
Czech Republic First! was a mass public demonstration on 3 September 2022 in Wenceslas Square in Prague, expressing dissatisfaction with the government of Petr Fiala and the government's approach to the ongoing energy crisis, inflation, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to police, about 70,000 people took part in the demonstration. A number of politicians and activists participated in the protest or expressed their support for the protesters.
CzechTek in 2005 was a freetekno music festival in the Czech Republic on 29 July 2005. Taking place in a meadow next to the D5 motorway near Mlýnec in the Plzeň Region, the festival was raided the following day by riot police using heavy equipment including tear gas, water cannons and military BVP vehicles.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
