Hundreds attend far-right party gatherings in Northern Bohemia

Some three to four hundred far-right extremists gathered in the North Bohemian towns of Varnsdorf, Rumburk and Nový Bor on Saturday. The events in the three towns were organized by the Workers Party for Social Justice and aimed against the region’s Romany minority. Some two hundred activists traveled to the area in support of the Romanies who live there. Dozens of police officers worked to ensure safety; police helicopters monitored the party gathering and march in Nový Bor. Interior Minister Jan Kubice and the deputy chief of police Vladislav Husák were also present in Nový Bor.

Ahead of the extremists’ gathering, the government’s human rights commissioner, Monika Šimůnková, has called on residents of the three towns to not buy into the arguments of radicals and to carefully consider their participation. For days, police have maintained a state of readiness in the area due to assemblies and demonstrations provoked by tensions between ethnic Czechs and Roma, which have escalated over the past month.

Author: Sarah Borufka