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Wednesday, May 10, 2000


Police, protesters rehearse for September
May Day clashes could be a taste of things to come

By Ivan Remias


Accusations of police brutality followed a rally by anarchists on May Day as new Interior Minister Stanislav Gross grappled with his first test ahead of what is expected to be a hot autumn of protest.

Altogether, 53 people were arrested at various places in central Prague and released later that evening after the unauthorized rally. One 19-year-old activist was charged with using violence against the police and faces up to three years in prison if found guilty.

The annual May Day meeting took place at Strelecky island on the Vltava river under the eyes of some 150 policemen.

Over 200 Czech anarchists gathered to protest globalization, social injustice and the Prague summit of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, which is expected to draw some 20,000 protesters from around the world next Sept. 26-28.

Police, claiming the rally wasn't authorized due to a late application by organizers, detained 15 people as protesters attempted to deliver short speeches. Later, the anarchists marched through central Prague and police arrested 38 people in the Mala Strana district.

But the way the police treated the peaceful protesters outraged human rights activists and independent observers, who called on Gross to explain the police action.

"The action was inappropriately brutal," said Petr Uhl, the government commissioner for human rights, who was present to inspect the scene. "The fact that the demonstration wasn't allowed cannot be an excuse for such behavior [by the police]."

Uhl claimed the demonstration didn't disturb traffic, speak out against the constitution, promote violence or show any sympathy with fascism or similar ideologies.

Interior Ministry spokesman Jan Decker said the police action was appropriate.

"We think that the police have acted fully in compliance with the laws of this country," he told The Prague Post. "We're in a trap. When we do intervene [in demonstrations], it's bad; when we don't, it's bad, too."

Police spokesman Jan Holub agreed, saying the police may have even been too lenient. "The demonstrators didn't accept the [police] decision to dissolve the meeting, didn't follow calls by police and continued giving speeches and went on an unauthorized march," he said.

But the anarchists blasted the arrests and some of them said they would file a lawsuit against the police for alleged brutality.

"We went to commemorate the fight of laborers against the ruling class, the victims of this fight and point out the terrible social and economic consequences of capitalism," Pavel Pecka of the Federation of Social Anarchists told the daily Pravo.

May Day rallies in recent years have also resulted in arrests and injuries among both protesters and police officers. In 1998, protesters smashed windows of two McDonald's and one KFC restaurant in central Prague. In response, police beat several demonstrators.


Ivan Remias's e-mail address is iremias@praguepost.cz

The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

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