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Clashes at far-right Prague rally | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
There have been clashes in Prague between neo-Nazis and protesters trying to block their right-wing march. | |
More than 1,000 people rallied in the Czech capital's old Jewish quarter to try to stop the march by members of the Young Nationalist Democrats (MND). | More than 1,000 people rallied in the Czech capital's old Jewish quarter to try to stop the march by members of the Young Nationalist Democrats (MND). |
The march was planned for the anniversary of the 1938 anti-Jewish purge known as Kristallnacht. | The march was planned for the anniversary of the 1938 anti-Jewish purge known as Kristallnacht. |
Police managed keep most of the 400 right-wing marchers and the anti-Nazi demonstrators separate. | |
But there were scuffles in side streets near the Jewish quarter and at least one person was injured, witnesses said. Police arrested several of the right-wing marchers. | |
Anarchists in other parts of the city also clashed with police. | |
'Unacceptable' | 'Unacceptable' |
In the end, the handful of Neo-Nazis who managed to evade the police patrols found they were heavily outnumbered by a large crowd of anti-fascist protesters, says the BBC's Rob Cameron in Prague. | |
A shot was apparently fired at a crowd outside the city's law faculty, leading to skirmishes, he adds. | |
The MND said the march was officially a protest at the Czech military presence in Iraq. | The MND said the march was officially a protest at the Czech military presence in Iraq. |
It had been banned after a series of court judgements, but the neo-Nazis repeated their calls to be allowed to demonstrate, saying they had no other way of expressing their political views. | It had been banned after a series of court judgements, but the neo-Nazis repeated their calls to be allowed to demonstrate, saying they had no other way of expressing their political views. |
Some of the MND skinheads arrested were armed with batons, truncheons and home-made Molotov cocktails, reports said. | Some of the MND skinheads arrested were armed with batons, truncheons and home-made Molotov cocktails, reports said. |
Scuffles broke out between the rival groups | Scuffles broke out between the rival groups |
"The march [by the extreme right] was unacceptable," Prague's mayor Pavel Bem told the AFP news agency. "We need to cultivate the national memory to avoid what happened in the past." | |
Czech President Vaclav Klaus also condemned the MND march. | Czech President Vaclav Klaus also condemned the MND march. |
Some of the anti-fascist protesters wore a yellow Star of David, while others carried red flags and wore slogans reading "Never Again". | |
They gathered in front of a Prague synagogue near a museum dedicated to the memory of some 77,000 Jewish victims of the Holocaust who came from the former Czechoslovakia. | They gathered in front of a Prague synagogue near a museum dedicated to the memory of some 77,000 Jewish victims of the Holocaust who came from the former Czechoslovakia. |
"I came because I don't like these idiots with their shaved heads," one demonstrator, a 17-year-old named Vera, told AFP. | |
On Friday, Czech tour operators warned tourists to keep out of central Prague and said organised tours would not travel into the area. | On Friday, Czech tour operators warned tourists to keep out of central Prague and said organised tours would not travel into the area. |
There were reports that busloads of German far-right supporters had been detained at the Czech border by police. | There were reports that busloads of German far-right supporters had been detained at the Czech border by police. |
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