Czech Republic: Hundreds of rampaging neo-Nazis attempt pogrom against Romani people in Ostrava
Source: Romea
An anti-Roma march by neo-Nazis attended by between 600 - 800 people ended in clashes with police today in Ostrava. Police arrested more than 60 people and both neo-Nazis and police officers were injured.
The most serious incidents took place at the intersection of Mariánskohorská and Nádraní Streets. Police officers halted neo-Nazis there who had been doing their best to reach Svatopluk Čech Square, where a Romani demonstration had taken place before noon.
Bottles, firecrackers, garbage cans, rocks and smoke bombs were sent flying through the air. Police used tear gas several times.
...
Around 600 - 800 neo-Nazis, according to police, met on Prokeovo Square in front of the New Town Hall in Ostrava just after 14:00, from where they then set out on a march through the town which other people joined. By that time, most of the approximately 600 Romani residents who had gathered on Svatopluk Čech Square were no longer there.
Read more: http://www.romea.cz/en/news/czech/czech-republic-hundreds-of-rampaging-neo-nazis-attempt-pogrom-against-romani-people-in-ostrava
Just another Saturday in Central Europe with neo-Nazis rampaging in a place where up to 83% of the white people have strongly racist attitudes towards the Roma (Gypsies).
DURHAM D
(32,610 posts)What is wrong with people.
RKP5637
(67,109 posts)loli phabay
(5,580 posts)David__77
(23,418 posts)Behind the rotten facade of "democratic Europe" lies this racism and chauvinism. Sickening.
loli phabay
(5,580 posts)There is a lot of military training in the nations nowadays and no way will the big man not fight back.
pampango
(24,692 posts)"rotten facade". These far-right thugs are motivated by a hatred of "them". "They" can be immigrants or fellow nationals who are of a different color, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion or just too liberal.
The far-right's hatred of people who are different is not going away. Democratic governments in Europe (and elsewhere in the world) do have to follow a path of inclusiveness and respect for differences, deal with the crimes these far-right thugs commit and not cave in to their demand that society's problems be blamed on "them".
Some of the most progressive countries in the world have violent, far-right fringes. It seems that no matter how equitablly a society's income is distributed, how strong their safety net is or how strong their unions are, there will be a fringe that finds some "thems" to hate. Indeed, equitable treatment of people whom the far-right perceives "do not belong here" motivates these thugs more than "benign neglect" of these groups would.
David__77
(23,418 posts)At least to this particular minority community. The hate isn't just hate, but built-in, institutionalized discrimination at all levels. So, yes, it is rotten.
Judi Lynn
(160,542 posts)dtom67
(634 posts)if there was more oil we could be talking about bombing the shit outta THEM instead of the Syrians.
seems everyone wants to unload on Someone.
I don't understand the attraction....
NutmegYankee
(16,199 posts)Way to move society back to the 50's - 1350's that is.
branford
(4,462 posts)Will Europe ever learn. They often like to complain about uncivilized Americans, yet they are still dealing with their own quaint little pogroms. It makes our racial protests pale in comparison.
I come from a family of Holocaust survivors who escaped from Eastern Europe. Reading stories like the OP both makes my blood boil and want to weep for my fellow man.
loli phabay
(5,580 posts)Lots of hatred of minority groups.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)And the Romani people who had come for a demonstration outfoxed them by leaving before they got to the square.
Then the radicals did what all mobs do, went batshit crazy. Overall, it was a success. I wonder how much more of this is going to happen and if it's going to overtax law enforcement.
This was part of several of these planned attacks. Every time I see people going after others, I wonder just how much military style policing is it going to take, since they attacked the police for stopping them.
That is interesting, with more links. Thanks for posting. I'd imagined the Czech republic settled down in recent years. But I guess not.
I always wonder how the mobs have time for all of this, maybe they are all unemployed?
Berlin Expat
(950 posts)the street from my apartment. I live on Nádraní Ulice. I didn't see it happen, as my apartment overlooks a rather expansive forest area, but I heard a commotion which sounded like some kind of rally when I was walking to the store around 15.00 (3 pm). Ordinarily, I like to check things out like that, but this time - for whatever reason - I chose not to. Good thing as well, apparently.
Neo-nazis and skinhead groups are far from uncommon around here, unfortunately, and there's still a lot of hardcore racism directed against the Rom and other people, mostly non-white foreigners. Their attitudes toward non-white foreigners are all over the place; some don't mind East Asians one bit, some don't mind Africans (quite a few of them have inexplicably positive attitudes towards African-Americans), others can't stand anyone who's not white, some hate other Caucasian ethnic groups such as Germans and Russians, etc.
The one thing that does unite them is their rather broad and deep hatred of the Rom people.
uhnope
(6,419 posts)Yes there have been many of these planned attacks this summer. This website provides excellent coverage of them in English: http://www.romea.cz/en/