Neo-Nazi Losers Lose Again

Police clash with demonstrators
At least 30 arrested, blood left on streets
Police clashed with demonstrators in a ritzy shopping street of Old Town Saturday near the Old-New Synagogue, throwing sound grenades and erecting metal barricades to control them.

At least 30 people were arrested, most of them neo-Nazis, according to a Vladislav Bernášek, a police spokesman. Others were injured in scuffles between rival groups and taken to the hospital.

Two groups of demonstrators faced off against each other on Parížská street at one point, which caused riot police in helmets to barricade the street. Some demonstrators carried flags that said “Good night, White Pride” in Czech. Others wore an unofficial uniform of ski masks and black clothing, while others had shaved heads and wore combat boots with white laces.

Incidents continued throughout the afternoon and evening. Squads of police remained around the synagogue late into the night. A white cloth banner with a pig's head drawn on it remained hanging on the metal security grill in front of the door of the Hugo Boss women's clothing store.

Members of the Young National Democrats extremist group vowed to march after the Prague Municipal Court ruled they would not be allowed to. Members of the group had said they wanted to march to protest Czech involvement in the Iraq war. Nov. 10 is the anniversary of the Kristallnacht in Nazi Germany in 1938 in which thousands of windows of Jewish shops were smashed and many Jews were rounded up and taken to concentration camps.

A heavy police presence throughout the day at the synagogue, in Old Town Square and at Námdstí Republiky several blocks away, included dogs, air patrol, armored vehicles, and many in riot gear. Police said before Saturday that they would deploy 1,400.

In contrast to the violence, the day was also filled with scenes of solemn remembrance.

Earlier in the day, an estimated 1,000 people gathered in the rain outside the synagogue to commemorate Kristallnacht victims. Many of them wore yellow stars on their coats, a sobering reminder of how Jews were treated in Nazi Germany and elsewhere.

At 3 p.m., another such gathering was held by the Jewish Liberal Union in Old Town Square, drawing hundreds of observers wearing stars and holding Israeli flags. Speakers ranged from politicians to Holocaust survivors, many of whom talked about the importance of remembering Kristallnacht, and their opposition to the neo-Nazis' activities.

At one point late in the afternoon, a group of about 20 demonstrators chanted “Antifa”, the name of the group. One said his “anti-Fascist” group was rallying to “take back our streets” and called the group's protest an “anti-Nazi” action. A banner posted on the group's Web site calls for supporters to come to an “anti-Fascist blockade” against a neo-Nazi march.

Some shops closed throughout the day. Some bystanders looked bewildered by the turmoil, while others looked on with interest. Some residents stood on high ledges outside their apartments or opened their windows to the drizzle to see what was going on.

Les Moules, a Belgian restaurant across the street from the synagogue, had closed and waiter Vlada Mistrit said mournfully that the only customers were about 50 police officers who had come in to use the bathroom. Restaurant workers ate lunch at a front table next to a plate glass window they had shuttered as a precaution. Mistrit estimated Les Moules would lose “thousands of crowns” (dollars) in business.

At Alberto Guardiani, a shoe shop directly across from the Old-New Synagogue, Artyom Ivanov stood in front of the plate glass window, his arms crossed, watching the heavy foot traffic outside.

“I don't think they'll do anything bad. People are only walking by right now, they're not breaking windows.”

Via The Prague Post

Also, a report from Radio Prague

Earlier

Photo: The Prague Post