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Neo-Nazi march in Prague
Fascism is on the rise in Europe. What the hell is going on ... its not just Russia anymore.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM...yHQ62NKLrzQ233Q
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Neo-Nazi march in Prague fails as protestors rally
4 hours ago
PRAGUE (AFP) — Brandishing yellow stars and red flags, more than a 1,000 people rallied in Prague's old Jewish quarter Saturday to block a far-right march on the anniversary of a notorious Nazi-era pogrom against Jews.
More than 1,500 armed police officers sealed off the Jewish quarter, where members of the far-right Movement for Young Nationalist Democrats (MND) had planned to meet.
Earlier Saturday, Officers had also arrested a number of skinheads, some armed with batons, truncheons and home-made molotov cocktails, said CTK agency.
Prague's mayor Pavel Bem said police had managed to keep apart most of the 400 neo-Nazis and about a 1,000 anarchists counter-demonstrators from entering the city's old quarter.
Some clashes did however break out between anarchists and neo-Nazis in several streets in the central part of town, leaving at least one person injured, witnesses said.
Anarchists also clashed with police in other parts of the city, injuring several people.
"The march was unacceptable," said Bem, who joined the counter-demonstration against the neo-Nazis. He had come to keep an eye on the situation but also to express his indignation.
"We need to cultivate the national memory to avoid what happened in the past," he added.
The date chosen for the march, November 10 is the anniversary of the day in 1938 when Nazis across Germany and in parts of Austria ransacked Jewish homes, shops and synagogues and killed more than 100 Jews.
The pogrom became known as Kristallnacht (Crystal Night) because of the number of windows smashed.
The MND march, officially to protest the Czech military presence in Iraq, was banned after a series of court judgements, but the neo-Nazis nevertheless maintained their call for a demonstration.
Czech President Vaclav Klaus was among the politicians who condemned the planned MND demonstration.
And the counter-demonstrations organized by civic and religious groups marked a departure for the Czech Republic, where public protests are rare and neo-Nazi rallies have never drawn much emotion.
Some of the counter-demonstrators wore the yellow stars of David that Jews were forced to wear during the Nazi era.
"Never Again," proclaimed several signs in front of one of Prague's synagogues, near a museum dedicated to the memory of the more than 77,000 Jewish victims of the Nazi genocide from former Czechoslovakia.
"I came because I don't like these idiots with their shaved heads," said one 17-year-old teenager, who identified herself as Vera, a star sewn on her coat.
"I am neither Jewish nor anarchist, nor I don't know what, I am a normal girl and I live in a normal country."
Czech authorities had ordered tighter border controls after press reports suggested neo-Nazis from neighbouring countries might travel to Prague for the march.
Three busloads of far-right supporters from Germany were spotted at the border where Czech police dispatched an escort to check their final destination, the country's CTK news agency reported.
On Friday, leading Czech tour operators warned tourists to avoid central Prague and said organised tours would not venture into the area Saturday.
A number of curious tourists were nevertheless on hand to view the demonstrations.
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http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5...KSLkNQD8SR3VJG0
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Neo-Nazi March in Prague Leads to Clash
By KAREL JANICEK – 38 minutes ago
PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) — Neo-Nazis trying to march through the Jewish quarter of Prague on Saturday clashed with groups trying to stop them, and at least 80 people were arrested in outbreaks of violence around the capital.
Police seized weapons including a gas gun, axes and sticks as the extremists tried to reach the Jewish quarter, police spokesman Ladislav Bernasek said.
At least six people, including one policeman, suffered head injuries, said Prague rescue service spokeswoman Jirina Ernestova.
The march was scheduled a day after the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night in 1938 when the Nazis attacked synagogues and Jewish homes and businesses throughout Germany and parts of Austria.
Authorities banned the march, and about 1,400 police were deployed in the capital, including riot police and officers on horses to prevent it. Equipped with armored vehicles and water cannons, they sealed off most of the historic Jewish quarter.
In a major clash downtown, a group of about two dozen neo-Nazis was attacked by people who said they were in the streets to prevent the march, Bernasek said.
About 50 left-wing extremists attacked police with cobble stones in another area.
In total about 80 people were detained around the city, including 10 German-speaking left-wing extremists armed with sticks, Bernasek said.
Jewish leaders and Czech politicians condemned the planned march as an insult to the victims of the Holocaust.
Hundreds of Jews and others gathered in the historic Jewish quarter to commemorate the Nazi pogrom, protest the march and be ready, if it went ahead, to prevent it from going through the neighborhood.
We are here "to protest attempts of neo-Nazi groups to publicly promote anti-Semitic, racist and other abusive ideas," said Jiri Danicek, head of the federation of Jewish communities.
The march was organized by the Young National Democrats, which is linked to the National Resistance, a neo-Nazi group.
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