Extremism

Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic
Security Policy Section
public@mvcr.cz

The Report on the Issue of Extremism in the Czech Republic in 2000

»contents

3. Extremism and its Development in the Czech Republic in 20004

3.1 General Characteristics5

In 2000, as in the previous years 1998 and 1999, the following extremist movements were active in the Czech Republic:

The following text contains actual organisations, including registered ones, forming by their activities or personal links a basis (a hot-bed) or logistics and political support for Czech extremism and its criminal manifestations. Unfortunately, in some cases the respective state authority cannot intervene with a position and the activities of such organisations as it should under the rule of law applying to civic associations, political parties and political movements. Activists of extremist organisations are well oriented in the legal environment, under which they exists, and they endeavour to present themselves legally to a greater extent, i.e. they do not spread their hate directly but they use carefully chosen demagogy just ”on the edge of the law” (see the extracts in the text).6

To directly name actual, existing organisations is of a predominantly preventative nature (both towards the public and towards those organisations’ members), and therefore such publicising should not be perceived as scandalising those organisations, nor as an effort to make their members criminals. The main intent is to involve all organisations where there are well-founded suspicions of extremism in the sense in which this expression is defined and used in the Report. Merely mentioning a registered organisation in the report on extremism does not have any legal consequences as such.

Furthermore, this approach is in compliance with the Conclusions of the Committee for Eliminating Racial Discrimination (CERD), adopted together with the third and fourth Periodical Reports of the Czech Republic, because in terms of its nature such an approach can be considered a targeted preventative measure7. It takes into account the necessity to pay attention to current, as well as newly established organisations, in light of their respective unlawful activities subject to the fact that such activities could create a background even for very dangerous crimes committed by individuals. This approach should also help Czech citizens in their basic orientation of the extremist scene. It is one way how, using sufficient information, to built a barrier against an inflow of new members, as well as supporters of the extremist scene.

3.2 Right-wing Extremist Scene

Even more than in a previous years, this scene used a platform of civic associations and continued its efforts aimed at joining the political scene.

With regard to this interest and efforts of individual organisations to gain essential influence in the process of making the right-wing scene more political, there were mutual negotiations of right-wing extremist organisations dealing with the ways and forms of their involvement in political life in the Czech Republic. More or less all significant organisations of the right-wing spectrum were involved in such negotiations.

During the course of the year, individual organisations prepared a range of joint actions, or they participated in events organised by another right-wing extremist organisation.

Practically all right-wing extremist organisations maintained foreign contacts with groups having the same orientation. For example, the Movement of National Unity had links with the Slovak organisation Slovak Solidarity and participated in international conferences held by the German Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschland (NDP). The Chairman of the Patriotic Front was, for example, in contact with the Swedish extreme right-wing party called Sverigedemokraterna (a party similar to the French Front National). Individual persons from the right extremist spectrum, however, had other personal links or written contacts available more or less all over the world.

At the beginning of 2001, their efforts to join the political scene were crowned by the VII Extraordinary Congress of the Patriotic Republican Party, which was held on 3 March 2001 in Prague. This Congress voted for a new name of the PRP, which was consequently changed to the National Social Block (NSB). By electing a new board the former board members, with the exception of two of them, were excluded from the management of the newly transformed party. The former secretary, Jan Kopal, who in the course of 2000 strongly supported right-wing extremist entities, became the Chairman of the NSB. Some members of the National Alliance were elected to the board; an activist of the National Resistance, Filip Vavra, became the head of the General Secretariat of the NSB.

3.2.1 Open Neo-nazi and Fascist Organisations and Associations
3.2.2 Organisations Registered or Applying for Registration with the Ministry of the Interior
3.3 The Left-wing Extremist Scene
3.3.1 ”Anarcho-autonomous” Scene

In 2000, the activities of anarchist and autonomous groups concentrated almost exclusively only on the preparation of protest actions against the IMF/WB meeting in Prague or against globalisation generally. Only at the end of 2000 did individual organisations begin to solve their internal matters..

The largest and the most important anarchist organisations operating in the Czech Republic are: The Czechoslovak Anarchist Federation (formerly the Czech Anarchist Federation), the Organisation of revolutionary Anarchist Solidarity (ORAS) and the Federation of Social Anarchists (FSA).33 The common programme thesis of these three organisations is to refuse a state or capitalistic organisation of economy. Unlike CSAF, the ORAS and FSA accent a purely political activity.

3.3.2 Neo-Bolshevik and Pan-Slavonic Groups and Organisations

The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSC, formerly the Party of Czechoslovak Communists – PCC)

It was established on 22nd April 1995 at the Restoration Congress and afterwards registered with the Ministry of Interior. It is a political entity ideologically based on the Marxist-Leninist ideology.

Yet under the name PCC, it declared its continuity with the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (CPC) that governed Czechoslovakia from 1948 until 1989 and that was by Act No 198/1993 Coll., from 9. July 1993, on the illegitimacy of the communist regime and resistance against it, declared to be a criminal and abominable organisation. In 2000, this party confirmed this attitude by changing its name to the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and was registered by the Ministry of the Interior on 16 February 2000.

Under Section 8 (1) of Act No. 424/1991 Coll., the registration of a new party or a movement or the registration of any changes in the Statutes is exclusively based on the Statutes of the organisation in question. The reason for rejecting any such registration may only be that the facts stated in the Statutes are inconsistent with Sections 1-5 and 6 (3)(4) of the Act. As the activities declared in the Statutes did not contradict the cited rule of law, there was not any reason for rejecting the changes in the Statutes in question.

The membership base consists of approximately 3000 persons (M. Stepan regularly presents the number of members as about six fold). In addition, the CPC has a certain range of supporters.

The CPC also represented a political formation in 2000 based directly on Marxism-Leninism declaring as its objective the establishment of a ”dictatorship of the proletariat” in the Czech Republic. The activities of the CPC aimed at establishing a totalitarian system suppressing human and civic rights and freedoms; a system which is not compatible with a plural democracy and a legal state conception (i.e. a law is superior to a state).

In the environment of the CPC the representatives of the party endeavoured to gain influence over the parliamentary KPBM. According to the statements of the CPC representatives, young people were especially interested in joining their party.40

In 2000, several commissions worked within the CPC. Their task was to explain the responsibility of concrete persons for the events in 1989, which the CPC considers to be a counter-revolutionary coup d’état. One of the most important interests of the CPC was also the issues of the property of the prior-November CPC. At the same time the CPC considers the current parliamentary system to be a kind of anachronism.

Development of international contacts of the CPC successfully continued. They may be proven, i.a., by a fact that the CPC planned for the first half of 2001 to organise the International Forum of Authentic Communist Parties. This meeting, which should bring up the discussion about the development of communist ideology as well as political development and the development of power in 1945 – 1948, is to be attended by several tens of communist parties from all over the world.

Extracts from the CPC texts
Dialogue,41 vol. 11, November 2000, No. 158

The Heritage of the GOSR Is Still Alive

”…the role of V.I.Lenin and J.V. Stalin can be liquidated neither by revisionism of Kruschov, nor the betrayal of Gorbatchov, Jelcin, Schevardnadze, Jakovlev, or any others who opened the way for the world, particularly American and German imperialism to meet its objectives to rule the world …

…It depends on communists, on their Marxist-Leninist unity, their political, ideological and organisational work among workers, farmers and progressive intelligence whether the example of the Great October Socialist Revolution as well of the Victorious February will be creatively used. The future belongs to socialism. And this will be again decided, in compliance with the Constitution, despite of all hatred and resistance of reactionary forces and revisionists by a unity and joint will of workers and the majority of the nation. And this is the point where the example of the Great October Socialist Revolution is still actual and alive”.42

Dialog, vol.11, December 2000, No. 159

The article named ”By the Revolutionary Way Ahead” is devoted to the life and work of J.V. Stalin (”To protect Stalin means to protect Marxism-Leninism… A significant contribution to the Marxist-Leninist theory…The class and international attitudes are decisive …”43

The Communist Youth of Czechoslovakia (CYC)

This unregistered organisation was established in April 1999. Neither formally nor organisationally is it a part of the CPC although it operates as its organisation for young people. They publish a journal called Pochoden (”Torch”).

The organisation defines itself as follows ”Our organisation, which concentrates about 150 people, operates in the whole territory of the Republic. It is strongest in North Moravia and Silesia. We are striving to organise actual events (such as demonstrations, protests, provocations…) and to fight in the spirit of Marx, Engels and Lenin for socialism and communism.

We are a warlike group of young people cooperating with the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (CPC). We also maintain contacts with the Communist Union of Youth (CUY) and a few revolutionary members of the CPBM. Furthermore, we develop contacts with the Movement for Self-governed Moravia and Silesia (MSMS), together with which we organised actions against the bombing in Yugoslavia.

We are against NATO, the EU and against capitalism. We do not intend to co-operate with any of the bourgeois parliamentary parties, including the CPBM, unless they change their revisionist and opportunistic line”.44

The Communist Movement of Czechoslovakia (CMC)

An unregistered organisation. The CMC applied for its registration as an civic association with the Ministry of the Interior in February 2000; their registration was rejected.

On the pages of Pochoden (Torch) (October 2000) the CMC presented itself as a unit of a revolutionary movement that unifies active, militant and Marxist oriented people (particularly young people) from various communist parties and organisations. The CMC is striving for a revolutionary struggle against capitalism and its kind of state. The movement considers the recently renewed Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (CPC) and its youth organisation, named the Communist Youth of Czechoslovakia (CYC), to be its main links and closest entities. However, members of other organisations as well as people, who are not members of any party, can become members of this movement.

The CMC is aware that without any activity, without its own radical activities and without a stronger struggle of the majority of people it is not possible to renew socialism. The movement contributes to this struggle, initiates, educates and organises it. It disseminates socialist ideas, it makes efforts to unify the communist movement and to come to its final victory in the next struggle of (and not only of) our nation. SOCIALISM IS UNAVOIDABLE! JOIN US AS WELL!!!” 45

The Unified Front (UF)46

It was established at the turn of 1999 and 2000 with the intention to operate as an organisation integrating various extremist or radical streams. Especially the Communist Movement of Czechoslovakia (CMC) and the Communist Youth of Czechoslovakia (CYC) participate in the activities of this newly established organisation. The above-mentioned organisations operated in 2000 particularly under the auspices of the UF.

Since the beginning of 2000 the Unified Front has dealt mainly with the possibility of participating in the protest actions against the Annual Meeting of the IMF/WB in Prague in September. In the first half of 2000 an increased interest of left-wing extremists in a difficult social situation, especially in the Ostrava-Karvina region, was apparent. They tried to use such situations towards their aims.

”Pan-Slavonic Orientation ”

Support for the programme of ”pan-Slavonic mutuality ” is spread among left-wing extremists of mainly neo-Bolshevik orientation. In their opinion, after the break-up of the socialist block, the countries with a predominantly Slav population are threatened in Central Europe by an aggressive ”Germanisation” masked by an integration process of NATO and EU accession. Thus, the Slavonic nations only have the option to preserve their identity and independence – to contribute to the powerful position of Russia and integrate themselves into its sphere of influence.

The principal representative of ”Slavonic mutuality” is the International Slav Committee, whose seat is in Moscow. Pan-Slavonism is becoming an important international activity which will, no doubt about it, serve various power aims since the idea of Pan-Slavonism is able to address both the non-communist public and right-wing extreme nationalists thanks to stressing ”national interests”.

On 23 January 2000 the 2nd meeting of the International Public Tribunal concerning crimes of NATO in Yugoslavia was held in Kiev. The Tribunal began its activities in 1999 in Russian Jaroslav. The Slav Committee of Ukraine invited the representatives of all Slav countries to participate in this meeting.47

The 1st Congress of Slav youth was held in Beograd in September 2000. There were delegates from more than 20 countries including the Czech Republic. The Congress was initiated by the representatives from Yugoslavia’s embassies in individual countries. The Czech Republic had 35 delegates at this Congress. The leading topics of the Congress were issues of Slavism, coherence of Slav countries and the current situation in Yugoslavia. The representatives of the Czech Slav Committee actively participated in the Congress. They informed the Congress participants about their intention to establish several new branches of the Slav Committee in the Czech Republic.

The Slav Committee of the Czech Republic (SC CR)

An organisation registered with the Ministry of the Interior on 24 April 1998.

In 1998 this organisation arranged a Pan-Slav Congress with an attendance of 5000 delegates from 12 Slav countries. The congress adopted the following documents: the Manifesto of the 1998 Pan-Slav Congress in Prague; the Proclamation to the Nations of Slav Countries, their Heads, Parliaments and Government, Leading Representatives of Social Movements and Political Parties; the Call to the Parliaments and Governments of Slav Countries to Establish an Inter-Parliamentary Union; a Call to the Parliaments and Governments of Slav Countries to Mutually Repeal Visas and Consular Fees to Ensure Problem-free Movement of Citizens of Those Countries; a resolution supporting indivisibility and inviolability of Serbia; a resolution concerning the necessity of cancelling international prohibitions and sanctions against the citizens of Yugoslavia. 48

Press: a journal called Slovanská vzájemnost, i.e. Slav Mutuality (published monthly); it contains information on political and economic issues which are interesting subjects to the SC CR as well as information from Slav countries and on the activities of the International Slav Committee.

In January 2000 (26 January) the second meeting of patriotic civic associations with the SC CR was held. An informal co-coordination centre was established here. Its main assignment is to coordinate decisive activities of individual organisations to increase their operability.

In addition, the assembly dealt with issues concerning the preparation of the VIII Pan- Slav Congress. The Congress was held 2 – 4 April 2001 in Moscow. 24 member delegation from the Czech Republic took part in it. 49

3.4 The Protests Against Globalisation and the Meeting of the IMF/WB in Prague
Generally

Street protests are a public manifestation of concealed, but currently running activities whose final aim is not to abolish or to change the attitudes of the actual institution but to block the current economic system of the democratic world, i.e., using the words of adversaries, ”to destroy capitalism”. Public protest activities are then presented as a legitimate ”defence against joint terrorism of the state and globalisation”.

Anti-globalisation activities do not come into existence ad hoc just on the occasion and at the location of a meeting of any of the leading institutions, but we can speak about a world-wide coordinated network formed by various radical, mostly extreme, left-wing groups in individual countries.

They mainly use the Internet for mutual communication and organisation of various kinds of activities, particularly e-mail and other electronic means of communication enabling them close contacts, very frequent and prompt exchange of views without the need to meet with other activists.

The whole movement is covered by a loosely structured group, People´s Global Action (PGA). 50Another crucial group related to the anti-globalisation movement and with the high probability to the PGA also is Independent Media Center (IMC). 51

An integral part of anti-globalisation activities is also the media and disinformation campaign aimed against the measures being taken by state authorities to ensure public order and security of citizens.

Preparations

Since the end of 1999, a whole range of domestic entities was involved in the preparation of protests against the 55th Meeting of the IMF/WB in Prague (e.g. activists, if the group is associated in CSAF; the Organisation of Revolutionary Anarchists (ORA); the Socialist Solidarity (SOSO); the Antifascist Action (AFA); the Initiative to Support of EZLN – zapatists). In February 2000 a loosely structured group called Initiative Against Economic Globalisation (INPEG), which facilitated the preparation of protests and co-ordinated Czech anarchists, Trotskyites and other groups and organisations.52 From abroad mainly the PGA participated in the preparations of protests in Prague (S26 Collective, Prager Herbst, etc.). The preliminary strategy and tactics of protests were agreed upon during the coordination meetings of Czech and foreign organisers.53 Even at that time it was obvious that the principal objective would be to call forth a violent confrontation with other state structures represented by the Police of the Czech Republic with the aim of using such confrontation for the discrimination of an institute of the state generally, i.e. to expose the state as a ”terrorist-fascist structure”. It was indicated also by the motto ”Make Prague another Seattle!” The instructors from the USA and eight other countries experienced from previous anti-globalisation actions assisted in preparing actions. They also hired a room to have a media centre of the IMC that ensured fresh news and information service during the protests for the foreign media from the point of view of the organisers of the protests. During the preparation of the protest actions other organisations were established: the Civic Legal Guards (CLG), the joint project Open Society Fund, HOST, and Ecological Legal Service Brno, whose aim was to monitor violations of laws by the Police of the Czech Republic. A low capacity for action and insufficiencies in IMPEG activities resulted in foreign activists taking over the organisation and management of the actions. A key role was played during the preparation of the protests and also during the demonstrations themselves by the Italian group YA BASTA.54

Action S26

The main demonstration was held on 26 September 2000. A great part of foreign participants arrived on 25 September and mainly aggressive ”black blocks” arrived at night from 25 September to 26 September. In addition to non-militant protestants against the IMF/WB meeting, the members of the above-mentioned autonomous groups ”black blocks” from Poland, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and some Scandinavian countries accompanied by domestic groups, among others the FSA, and EF participated in the demonstrations. Militant groups attempted a violent penetration to the zone of the Congress centre, they tried to block communications and attacked the officers of police forces burning bottles and paving blocks.55 After the blockade of the Congress Centre autonomous groups attacked ”the symbols of global capitalism”, being shops of Mc Donald´s, KFC, bank branches, department stores, etc in the area of Wenceslav Square and Vinohrady Avenue. The majority of foreign participants left Prague at night. During the next several days there were no violent attacks; protest actions and demonstrations passed off without disturbing the public order.56

The Communication Among Groups

During the street protest events, anti-global activists informed about the course of individual demonstrations as well as about the numbers of seized individuals, their nationalities and the conditions of their imprisonment. Immediately after the protest S26 events in Prague, news concerning the procedures during the seizures and protest against alleged police brutality towards those who were put into custody appearing on the web sites of anti-global movements or on the pages of some newspapers, brought about great publicity. Calls for sending protest letters to state bodies of the Czech Republic or to the Office of the President as well as for organising demonstrations in front of the Czech embassies abroad were organised and published. The individual persons seized provided information on their seizure and interrogations at the police stations, and the credibility of which differed. The follow up investigations of the Inspection of the Minister of the Interior have proved that three of the complaints were true (treatment of the seized individuals at the police stations in Ocelarska and Lupacova streets and beating of an activists S.T.).

57

The preparation and the course of demonstrations itself confirmed how important the role of the Internet network and e-mail communication is in such actions. The anarcho-autonomous scene entered the third millennium being connected all over the world through communication networks and capable of responding immediately to various events through its Internet news.

A whole range of special internal materials dealt with the evaluation of measures adopted to secure public order and overall security during the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund and the Group of the World Bank, as well as the work of intelligence services and the Police of the Czech Republic The work of the Police of the Czech Republic was evaluated in a summary report of the Ministry of the Interior that was approved by the Security Council of the Stare by its resolution No. 139 from 19 December 2000.

Currently the Civic Legal Guards disclosed a report on their activities during the preparation and course of the Annual Meeting of the IMF/WB in Prague in September 2000. They expressed their dissatisfaction with the work of the Inspection of the Minister of the Interior concerning its investigations of ”mass” and gross violations of rights of the seized persons at the police stations”.58

Offences Committed by Supporters of the Anarcho-autonomous Spectrum of the Extremist Scene and Their Activities Towards Breaching Public Peace

The anarcho-autonomous movement became more radical and enhanced its organisation and mutual links. A ”hard core” emerged that commits crimes during their actions. A transition from gestures of a proclaiming nature to the use of violent methods was indicated through ”street parties” in the previous years. The protests against the September meeting of the IMF/WB became the ”event of the year 2000” for these groups which made their preparedness to commit violence and to destroy property fully visible. In terms of social danger, inside organisation and links to foreign groups, mainly the Antifascist Action (AFA) and Federation of Social Anarchists (FSA) seem to be the most problematic.

380 foreigners were not allowed to enter the territory of the Czech Republic in connection with the IMF/WB meeting. The Police of the Czech Republic (hereinafter ”the Czech Police”) seized 949 persons and 386 of them (41%) were foreigners. The unlawful conduct of the majority of them was qualified as a misdemeanour. In compliance with Act No. 326/1999 Coll., on the Residence of Foreigners in the Czech Republic, 234 foreigners had their residence terminated in the Czech Republic; the proceedings on administration banishment was commenced with 130 foreigners, however, in 129 cases it was ceased. Only one foreigner received a decision on administration banishment. 30 persons (25 of them were foreigners) were examined as crime suspects, while 16 of them were taken into custody under the court’s decision for: assaults on public officials (Sec. 155), frustrating the execution of an official decision (Sec.171), defamation of a nation, race or conviction (Sec.198), rowdyism (Sec.202), damaging another’s property (Sec. 257) and support and propagation of movements aimed at suppressing citizens’ rights and freedoms (Sec. 261).59

By their unlawful conduct, the protesters of the IMF/WB meeting caused damage to the property of the District Councils in Prague 2 and Prague 4, the Emergency Health Service Prague, Czech Railways, a Mc Donald´s shop and a branch of the IPB bank. The damaged caused was estimated to an amount exceeding CZK 23.5 million. The damage in Prague 1 has to be added as well, e.g. damage to the Corinthia Hotel and 9 damaged cars. 60

3.5. Comments on the relationship of Some Sub-structures to the Manifestations of Extremism 61
Squatters

They are predominantly young people who illegally occupy some unused premises. Squatting, as a movement, is perceived by squatters themselves in very different ways. Some consider it a life philosophy, for others it is a temporary solution to their current life situation, while the rest see in it a kind of vanguard of asocial revolution. However, criticism of the current social system is common to them. They consider it to be unethical, immoral, and based on profit and exploitation.

By its nature squatting is near to the anarcho-autonomous scene It does not have its own complete and single ideology, the motto is – occupy and live. While implementing it they breach the law and commit a crime of unauthorised violation of another’s rights to a house, flat or non-residential premises pursuant to Section 249a of the Criminal Code. 62

We can read in the journal of the Czechoslovak Anarchist Federation, Existence No.4 from January 1999, apart from other things, the following:

“Squatting is a movement within which people do not only fight for their ideals and visions, but they directly struggle for their living space. They learn how to live in a community, they use a majority of things jointly, they break conventional stereotypes, they show the way… Squats are refuges of the opponents to the system... By their beneficial actions, they participate in financing activities of autonomous and anarchist movements. They are becoming a catalyser of resistance, a vanguard of a revolution which will ensure political and economic justice and self-government and, last but not least, dignified accommodation for all--not only those who can afford it. Squatting is a struggle here and now and is becoming a vanguard to asocial revolution.(downloaded from the sites of milada.s.cz on 9 May 2001)

”We fully acknowledge that such terms as ”freedom”, ”equality”, and ”democracy” may be interpreted differently, however, the truth is that these terms have been abused many times to suppress their original sense or meaning. In no event, we on ”Milada” have ambitions to press somebody upon a new model of a society. However, the truth is that we oppose the current system and we are trying to seek ways on how to change it. Such search is and must be based on a discussion, but mere philosophical talks are not enough in our opinion, and that is why we are striving to implement some of our ideas in practice and thus create at least a small community of people which function on the principles of free agreement and where disputable issues are solved by consensus. As I have mentioned above, we oppose the system but we do not firmly state that squatters create an vanguard of a revolution. The term ”revolution” does not have to be narrowed only to a kind of violent coup d’état. An exchange of something for something else, standing on different basis can be also considered to be a ”revolution”. If the approaches to a solution of problem issues changed in the whole society, it would be a revolutionary change. If our activities contributed a little bit to the extension of the freedom of an individual and simultaneously to greater equality in the economic area, we would reach our objective. I personally would be happy, in terms of squatting, with a change of legislation concerning its legalisation, as a kind of reform and not necessarily a revolution. (19 April 2001 S.T.)”. (downloaded from milada.s.cz on 9 May 2001)

Spray painting

It is a contemporary form of vandalism consisting in spray painting the facades of buildings, walls, trains and, in many cases, cultural sights and other spaces by pictures of various colours or unintelligible texts and signatures. Every year sprayers cause damages amounting to millions. The local self-governing bodies are striving to fight this phenomenon using all their possible means ( from offering remunerations for apprehension of sprayers to attempts to single out special surface places for them ).

Sprayers may be committing a crime pursuant Section 257 (damaging another’s property) of the Criminal Code. Apprehension of offenders followed up by proving their crimes is very difficult in such cases since the crime itself usually lasts only several minutes and its implementation is inconspicuous.

Among graffiti we can also find drawings of swastikas and similar signs symbolising fascism, which is a crime under Section 260 (support and propagation of movements aimed at suppressing citizens’ rights and freedoms) of the Criminal code. Spray painting is a manifestation of extremism only if its sense is to spread propaganda of hate.

Hooliganism

Crowd violence of fans, so called football ”hooliganism”, is also sometimes considered to be extremism. Hooliganism is based on mutual physical attack of fans, who are enemies, of individual clubs and riotous conduct before, during and after sport matches.

Those ”hooligans” aroused public notice more seriously in 1985, when disreputable fans of the Prague club, Sparta, coming back by fast train from Banska Bystrica made a mess in a train and caused the damage of more than half a million Czech crowns. Within the next several years, more or less organised groups of ”fans” came into existence with the largest football clubs, such as Sparta Prague, Banik Ostrava, and Slovan Bratislava. After the Czechoslovak Republic split and the Czech league was established the situation at the football stadiums temporarily calmed down. Whereas in the past the fans of one club used be a quite heterogeneous group who met ad hoc during matches of their team, nowadays there are actual, yet not very numerous, gangs of well organised ”fans”, one club having even several of such gangs (e.g.. Red Pirates Sparta, Sparta Prague, Slavia hooligans). A great extent of good organisation can be proved also by concluding the so-called coalition agreements between individual gangs, even at the international level, which then travel to express their support during so-called ”risky matches”. They have their trains, signs and web sites, on which they present and evaluate individual ”trips” to matches, conclude truce or declare hostility. They are not very much interested in the course of the football matches.

During football matches ”hooligans” very often commit crimes under Sections 202 (rowdyism), 257 (damaging another’s property), 225 (brawling), 221 (injury to health) and last but not least, while getting into conflicts with the police Section 155 also (assault on public officials) of the Criminal Code. Through the amendment to Act No.405/2000 Coll., it is possible to qualify their conduct pursuant Section 198a (incitement of national and racial hatred or violating another person’s rights and freedoms). The absolute majority of these ”hooligans” are right-wing extremists, and there are skinheads among them. So, more frequently we can hear at the stadiums fascist greetings (Sieg Heil), which means that such persons commit a crime under Section 260 (support and propagation of movements aimed at suppressing citizens’ rights and freedoms).

The ”ideology” of a hooligan movements is a cult of violence consisting in initiating riotous conduct and physical attacks. It is not rare when innocent people are also drawn into such conflicts. A security risk of this movement consists in drunk hooligans easily directing their aggression against anybody. This movement can not be unambiguously labelled as extremist (in the sense in which the term extremism is defined for the purpose of this Report), but thanks to a large amount of support of skinhead movements among hooligans and the number of crimes committed having an extremist subtext during football matches, it contains the elements of extremism, and therefore it is solved within the police structure by the same experts.

3.6 Dangerous Sects and Pseudo-religious Organisations 63

With a range of sects and pseudo-religious organisations operating in the country, the situation in the Czech Republic was in no way different to that in other European countries. In 2000, as well as in previous years, no demonstrable crime by dangerous sects was recorded in the Czech Republic. In this field, the Czech authorities can make use of information from abroad and take it into account in their approach.64 Despite that, it is essential to note the main potential threats to the state in connection with the existence of such organisations. In terms of intelligence services, sects could be dangerous if their activities act against the principles of the state. According to the police, a destructive sect is one whose proclamations and whose members’ actions are in conflict with criminal law. Among the most serious risks is the infiltration of state structures, including the armed forces, by members of pseudo-religious organisations. All over the world, they try to penetrate state structures with subversive objectives, or with the aim of acquiring know-how, or gaining positions which would allow them to use their influence to the benefit of the group to which they belong. A further risk is a religious group convinced of a mission it has to fulfil – their members may try to gain the corresponding technical knowledge in the armed forces or may use violent means against the armed forces as a symbol of the ”despised state”. Threats coming unexpectedly from small groups, which no one had previously recorded as potential threats, tend to be the most dangerous.

Most sects however do not make themselves visible and establish their communities in seclusion and in remote areas. The security units are informed of such communities after the affected persons lodge complaints or on the basis of local and personal information.65 This is a very complicated issue, which is not uniformly tackled in European countries and is the subject of extensive discussions.

In 2000, as in the previous year, the Ministry of Culture did not find, within the churches and religious societies or legal religious entities registered with this Ministry, any manifestations which could be marked as misdemeanours or criminal offences motivated by racism, xenophobia or religious intolerance. No application for registering a religious community was submitted in terms of which the Ministry of Culture, as the registering body, was made to assess the establishment or activities of an applying entity from the aspects which are subject to measures adopted by the Government to increases the efficiency of punishment and prevention of crimes and misdemeanours based on the support, propagation or dissemination of extremist ideologies and attitudes as well as activities of extremist groups operating in the Czech Republic and crimes of a racial nature.

3.7 Terrorism as a Potential Means of Achieving Extremist Objectives

Terrorism is a violent method of threatening political opponents using threats and violence. With the help of terror they attempt to create extreme psychological pressure among individuals and groups of citizens.

Manifestations of terrorism are affected by an internal political situation and by a development in the international situation. Generally, the Czech extremist scene, as any other similar scene, is a classic risky environment for the emergence of politically oriented internal terrorist activities. The main potential risk here is the radicalisation of domestic extremist groups and their links to more militant foreign groups and their potential misuse by other organisations for their own purposes or interests. The possibility of an individual, spontaneous reaction by an individual or a small group still remains.