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

8. Conclusion

No considerable changes were recorded within the basic extremist movements. In 2000, as in the previous year, the Czech extremist scene saw both right-wing and left-wing extremist tendencies. However, a marked shift was made in the activities of entities operating on this scene.

The year 2000 was for the right-wing extremists, a period during the course of which they endeavoured to reach their aim determined in 1999: to establish a regular political party. All important organisations of the right-wing extremist spectrum participated in all negotiations to a varying extent. For left-wing extremists, mainly for anarcho-autonomists, the year 2000 was, in the first place, the year of their preparation for the September demonstrations against the IMF/WB Meeting and for a possible confrontation with police forces.

Right-wing and left-wing extremists found a common topic and agreement in their resistance against globalisation process.

In comparison with 1999 in the nation-wide average, the number of right-wing extremist supporters of the skinhead movement increased approximately by 22.3 up to 23.3 % and anarcho-autonomists by 61.3 up to 67.2%. However, it needs to be stressed that the numbers present skinhead and anracho-autonomist supporters cannot be in any event interchanged with the number of the members of hard cores of those extremist movements. The highest number of such persons remained concentrated in the Capital City of Prague, South Moravia, North Moravia and North Bohemia where, together with East Bohemia, the most crimes of an extremist nature were committed.

In 2000, as in 1999, crimes with an extremist subtext were mostly committed by right-wing extremist skinheads and left-wing extremist anarcho-autonomists. Mainly the skinhead movement supporters committed crimes motivated by racial and national hatred followed by citizens from the majority society who did not have any links to extremist movements and did not denominate any extremist ideology. The victims of such crimes were especially members of the Roma population and dark skinned foreigners. A new phenomenon which emerged to the fore was ”extremist tourism”. There were more frequent cases of extremist crimes committed by foreigners.

In 2000, in comparison with 1999, an increase by 15.2%, (+ 48), in offences with an extremist subtext was recorded. This rise was accompanied by a higher number of offences cleared up (+ 54) and by a higher detection rate. In terms of composition of crimes, the crimes of support and propagation of movements aimed at suppressing citizens’ rights and freedoms (148) and crimes of defamation of a nation, race or conviction (111). In 2000, no crime with an extremist subtext causing death was committed. No crimes of an extremist nature committed by members of the Czech Police was recorded either. As in the previous years, serious physical attacks causing injuries to victims were detected. According to the estimations of police experts, the number of supporters of extremist movements rose (+36,4% - +37,4%).

Successful elimination of the extremist phenomenon does not lead through criminal repression, which solves consequences without being able to eliminate reasons of the negative phenomenon monitored. To absolutely prevent extremist crimes or to stop them completely is not realistic. The same applies to crime as a whole.

However, the Ministry of the Interior has strived and is striving to minimise, through the bodies involved in criminal and penal proceedings this kind of crime, by punishing it using criminal repression and to paralyse it using all available legal means. For such efforts the Ministry has to be supported by a considerably enforced society-wide prevention which concerns particularly the Ministries of Culture, Education, Youth and Sports as well as the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Thus, all round prevention covering all state administration bodies and the society as a whole is of irreplaceable and essential importance.