CEPSA Annual Conference 2011, Vienna

CEPSA Annual Conference 2011, Vienna

Targeting Neo-Nazism on the Supra-national Level in Central Europe – the Czech Perspective

(Draft version)

Petra Vejvodová[1]

Introduction

The neo-Nazi movement is currently undergoing a very important change, becoming a trans-national movement as never before. The advancement of technology, the internet, globalization, and the gradually disappearing physical borders between European countries means that members of the neo-Nazi movement have marvelous possibilities for crossing borders and meeting one another, whether in person or in virtual space. Naturally the neo-Nazis are well aware of this, and have been successful in using it just as well as other people have. They have been able to solidify their common identity and spread their message to a broader audience and a broader circle of potential followers more easily than ever before. They are taking advantage of the chances and opportunities today’s world offers. They face the challenge of internationalization, and the chance to form an international network.

Today’s West, Central, and Eastern European (and non-European) neo-Nazis are in relatively close contact. During the past decade there has been a major rise in the activities of the individual neo-Nazi organizations abroad. The political activities of individual groups at the national level is very often supported by foreign groups, and not just between neighboring countries; the neo-Nazis are determined to cover much greater distances. Even so, “neighborly assistance” is the dominant form. This is true especially for neo-Nazi movements in Central Europe. Besides physical support we can also see, as part of internationalization, the dissemination of strategies and concepts within the region and beyond. This is seen for example in the spread of the concept of “autonomous nationalism”. Internationalization fits perfectly with the main idea of neo-Nazism – the rise of a white Europe, ruled by the white race.

The cross-border activity and transnationalization of the group as a whole complicates the situation of the national states. National institutions find themselves in the situation where they must face threats that have national character only to a limited degree, but the overall scope is international. Their ability to react and create an effective strategy in fighting neo-Nazism and other non-democratic ideologies is limited, because what applies to neo-Nazism applies to other ideologies as well. The logic of the national strategies should be to seek foreign partners for cooperation and create a supra-national cooperation network that will be effective in advancing the principles of democratic society and eliminating such phenomena as intolerance, xenophobia, racism, and discrimination.

In this article we will look at how the countries of Central Europe (the Visegrad Four) react on a political level to the current trend of transnationalization of the neo-Nazi movement, by becoming involved in international or bi-lateral platforms that will make it possible to confront the danger of neo-Nazism. We were also interested in what trends were observed over the last ten years.

Case Study – the Czech attitude to dealing with neo-Nazism on the national level

There is a nation-wide consensus that the neo-Nazi ideology is a harmful thing that should be contained. A broad range of state institutions have implemented anti-extremism policies, especially the Ministry of Interior, through its Department of Security Policy and the Police (with its specialized anti-extremism unit). Then there are the intelligence agencies. Very important roles are played by the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture, GovernmentCouncil for Human Rights, Government Council for National Minorities, Government Council for Roma Community Affairs, and the newly-created Agency for Social Inclusion in Roma Localities. Local communities, NGOs, and academia also play very important roles.

In May 2009 the Czech Government released its first official comprehensive policy paper “Strategy for Combating Extremism”. The document is updated annually, and the monitoring of extremism in the Czech Republic is a pivotal of this. Until 2009 the Ministry of Interior published an Annual Report on Extremism in the Czech Republic (monitoring report). Before2009 an expert group Task Force C was founded by the Ministry of Interior, composed of representatives of state agencies, NGOs, and academia. Its main goal was to discuss methods of combating extremism. The group went through some conflicts in the first half of this year, and it was decided to change the shape of the Task Force C.

It seemed for a long time that repression, and only repression, was the main instrument for combating extremism. This included surveillance, banning of announced public gatherings, and successful or unsuccessful criminal prosecutions, and the arrest of members of neo-Nazi scene. Police measures have intensified in the last three years,as neo-Nazi activity in the public space intensifies. The most talked-about repressions against neo-Nazis were the ban on the Worker’s Party in 2010, and the police operations code-named“Power” and “Lotta” in 2009, which dramatically paralyzed the Czech neo-Nazi movement.

We can identify a qualitative shift in the way extremism has been addressed over the last decade. During the 1990’s, reduction of extremism in the society was founded on monitoring and repression. The new decade has featured increasing support for educational events and projects promoting democratic culture and civic society. Especially thanks to European Structural Founds, NGOs and schools are able to put together campaigns and educational programs supporting human rights and tolerance in society.

The intensive and strong anti-extremism networking on the national level has been established over the last decade. The agenda setting works well too. Involvement by foreign partners and common procedures on the international level is needed and expected; however, the national level is still considered as the main level for combating extremism.

The Czech Republic is a part of an international community that has tried to create strategies and concepts against neo-Nazism and other nondemocratic ideologies. The Czech role, however, has been more passive than active, and the Czech Republic takes a position closer to accommodation than of active initiative.

Multilateral platforms

International cooperation in the fight against neo-Nazism is guided by two principles: 1) the struggle against neo-Nazism is part of the greater struggle against extremism and non-democratic ideologies, and for the elimination of racism, xenophobia, and discrimination; 2) the international platform for cooperation is supported by international organizations such as the UN, OSCE, and the European Union. The international organizations themselves are of the opinion argue that this issue should not be the internal affair of the individual states alone, but the subject of international cooperation.

In the struggle against neo-Nazism and extremism in general, international cooperation by the Czech Republic was not strong in the 1990s. This was related to the fact that for almost the entire 1990s the Czech Republic did not have its own security strategy for the national level, therefore it could hardly join in any kind of international platform. Several times during the 1990s the Czech Republic was the target of sharp criticism by various international organizations dealing with human rights. The situation slowly began to change in 1998, when the Czech Republic began to publish annual reports on the state of extremism in the Czech Republic, and in 1999 it published its first official security strategy. The Czech Republic got its first official strategy for the struggle against extremism only ten years later.

The Czech Republic and other Central European countries focus on such international organizations as UN, OSCE, and EU at the supra-national level as suitable platforms with broad legitimacy for the fight against neo-Nazism and other non-democratic ideologies.

The most important UN document in the fight against right-wing extremism is the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which was adopted in 1966 and signed by every Central European country. The convention binds the states to adopt legislative and practical measures to eliminate racial discrimination. Important for the Czech Republic are the articles that call for making organizations and activities inciting racial discrimination as illegal, and prosecuting participation in them.

The UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) oversees observation of these obligations. The committee handles complaints by the individual states, and by individuals against states.

States are required to issue periodic reports on their observance of the International Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The report describes the extremist scene, maps out criminal activity with an extremist subtext, and describes the status of international cooperation in the fight against extremism. On the basis of the submitted reports, meetings of CERD are held at which the activities of the individual parties to the treaty and their activities in fulfillment of the treaty are evaluated. On the basis of these meetings an official recommendation is then produced that spells out the positive aspects and then the problems that are a cause for concern and should be dealt with. In the case of the Czech Republic the recommendations mostly concern the legislative framework, the situation of the Roma minority and discrimination. Lately the CERD has also been interested in the activities of the Agency for Social Inclusion. However, these are only recommendations.

One of the most important events in the fight against neo-Nazism during the last decade was the UN World Conference on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance, held in South Africa in 2001. The Czech Republic took an active part in preparing and conducting the conference. The conferences’ final documents among other things refer to neo-Nazism, which they condemn along with all ideologies founded on racial prejudice. In the document the UN demands criminal penalties for the spreading of such ideas (Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic 2003: 74). The countries of Central Europe committed themselves to advance the principles defined in the final document. Nevertheless, despite the fact that the Czech Republic committed itself to preparing a National Action Plan for the struggle against racism, and began preparations for it in 2003, no Action Plan has yet been produced. Slovakia produced a National Action Plan for the Prevention of All Forms of Discrimination, Racism, Xenophobia, Anti-Semitism, and other expressions of intolerance for the period 2000 – 2001 and the period 2006 – 2008. Poland produced a National Action Plan for the period 2004 – 2009.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) serves as a discussion forum on the issue of preventive diplomacy and conflict resolution. Neo-Nazism and extremism in general is dealt with mainly in the context of protection of minority rights. Racism and xenophobia are dealt with by the (Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights – ODIHR). On the issue of non-democratic ideologies, it conducts expert seminars and conferences, and monitors the situation in regard to the observation of human rights in individual countries, on which it issues its recommendations. Member states also have the chance to cooperate in shaping strategies for the struggle against non-democratic ideologies. At present one of the main themes is hate crime. The OSCE has created the virtual platform TANDIS (Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Information System) for the purpose of communication and exchange of experience and good practice. TANDIS offers information on the individual countries and their experience with eliminating intolerance and discrimination. It also collects evaluation reports on the individual countries, international instruments, and the necessary legislation. The OSCE thus supports a more effective international discussion.

In the context of the ODIHR, in the Czech Republic has an Inter-Ministerial Commission for the Fight Against Extremism, Racism, and Xenophobia. It is an advisory body of the Ministry of the Interior. It serves as a national contact point for the ODIHR in the Czech Republic. The task of the Commission is to prepare materials dealing with extremism and racism in the Czech Republic(Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic 2007: 14-15).

The European Council has its advisory organ, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the task of which is to monitor and analyze the situation in the individual member countries, and present its recommendations.

After entering the EU the countries of Central Europe joined the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia - EUMC). Its task is to monitor the occurrence of racism and xenophobia in the EU countries, analyze the reasons for the occurrence, and recommend solutions to EU institutions and member states. The EUMC is also responsible for maintaining the Racism and Xenophobia Network - RAXEN). As part of RAXEN a National Focal Point was set up in each country to create an information network linking state institutions, non-governmental organizations, and research institutions in the fight against racism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism. In the Czech Republic this focal point is the group Člověk vtísni (People in Need). In 2007 the EUMC ended its activities, and was replaced by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights - FRA.

As for EU legislation related to neo-Nazism and other non-democratic ideologies, in 2007 the EU ministers of justice adopted a fundamental law against xenophobia and racism that enables punishment by imprisonment for incitement to racial hatred, and denial of genocide and the Holocaust. After long negotiations over this law that lasted 6 years, some elements were left out, such as a ban on the use of Nazi symbols (Denik.cz 2007). In 2009 the Czech Republic implemented the EU’s anti-discrimination directive (the last member state to do so). The law is meant to ensure the principle of equal treatment and a ban on discrimination. The principles include a ban on discrimination for reasons of race, ethnic origin, or nationality.

Besides these, international organizations, the countries of Central Europe decided to strengthen their regional cooperation in the struggle against extremism, and thus on October 10, 2001 an agreement was made among the ministers of the interior of the Visegrad 4 countries and Austria to establish a “Working Group for the Fight against Extremism in the Visegrad Countries and Austria”. The working group is in the care of the Czech Republic, and meets once a year; its meetings are closed to the public. At the first meeting in 2002 it was decided that a national contact center would be designated at the level of the police or the appropriate ministry that would facilitate direct communication among experts (Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic 2002). The contact points were activated in the second half of 2002. The working group serves the participating countries as a discussion forum through which they can exchange experience in the fight against extremism, and trade information on the situation in the individual countries. As the Ministry of Interior Czech Republic itself notes, discussions are very wide-ranging. In the context of the fight against extremism the working group seems to have been a relatively ineffective instrument that has failed to produce any tangible, demonstrable results. Within the working group there are postings at the level of ministry of interior and police corps, joint educational activities, and new events aimed at exchanging experience with the countries of the Western Balkans and with Ukraine. In 2008 the meeting of the working group was also attended by representatives of Sweden and Germany. New trends on the extremist scene were discussed. The German and Swedish representatives attended the meeting again in 2009.

Bilateral platforms

Over the course of the last decade the Czech Republic has signed bilateral agreements with neighboring countries in the fight against neo-Nazism and other non-democratic ideologies. It did so on the basis of treaties signed earlier, but which did not reflect new forms of criminal activity, including racism, xenophobia, and discrimination. Although Europe has been experiencing this type of criminal activity for a much longer time, the Czech Republic began to pay attention to the new situation in an international context only with a great deal of delay. This is partially related to the fact that some form of strategy in the fight against intolerant forms of behavior was formed at the Czech national level only in the late 1990s.

In the case of Austria, the Ministry of the Interior Czech Republic submitted a proposed agreement on cooperation in the fight against crime and protection of public order in October 2001. The proposal included cooperation in the area of extremism, racial hatred, and xenophobia. The agreement was signed in 2005 and went into effect in 2006, replacing an agreement from 1988.