The Prague Post Online: News: May Day festive and peaceful despite fears

http://www.aaaradiotaxi.cz/index.php?xSET=lang&xLANG=2

July 25th, 2008

Endowment Fund Book of Lists ONLINE Reservations Classifieds Subscriptions

Real Estate Prague Prague Rentals Prague Apartments Prague Art & Antiques

May Day festive and peaceful despite fears

Groups mark international holiday with marches, music and Marxist rhetoric
Reporter's Notebook | Search restaurants | Archives

By Ondřej Bouda
Staff Writer, The Prague Post

Photo copyright KATEŘINA LÁNOVÁ

Social Democrats laid out toys for the "deprived" neo-Nazis at Jiřího z Poděbrad. enlarge

Certain parts of Prague felt a little bit like a city under siege May 1, with demonstrations, helicopters and police standing on street corners.

But other sections of the city were largely quiet, as many residents headed for the countryside for an early taste of spring and a long holiday weekend.

Anarchist and neo-Nazi groups held peaceful rallies, rock bands played and politicians pontificated.

May 1 has been celebrated as Workers’ Day since 1890, when laborers in countries around the world went on strike to call for an eight-hour work day. In Czechoslovakia, mass marches were organized by the communist regime to celebrate the achievements of the working class.

So it was no surprise when Communist Party regulars were the first to start celebrating this year. About 2,000 supporters met at the Křižík Fountain at the Prague Exhibition Grounds in Prague 7 early in the morning. They were entertained by a brass band and actress Jiřina Švorcová, a popular artist during communist times.

Vojtěch Filip, the party’s chairman, thundered against the current government — criticizing its stand on a planned U.S. radar based on Czech soil and the return of Christian Democratic Chairman Jiří Čunek to government, despite a corruption scandal that forced him to step down in November.

Next up in the same spot was the extreme, right-wing National Party, which promised a “street of shame” for the communist crowd. But, when only 20 National Party members showed up, their feeble protest went mostly unheard.

Another political group seemed to have a much larger impact on the day’s proceedings.

Young Social Democrats met at náměstí Míru in Prague 2 to march on to Jiřího z Poděbrad. There, they left brightly colored toys for the neo-Nazis who met there later in the day.

The Social Democrats were joined by statesman Jiří Dienstbier, who voiced his support and wished them better luck then they had in 2007, when many were arrested after clashes with neo-Nazis during Workers’ Day demonstrations.

As the small group marched through the streets, it was heavily guarded by policemen, who outnumbered marchers easily three to one.

After arriving at Jiřího z Poděbrad, members set out the toys and read statements. A helicopter hovered overhead to keep watch on the “dangerous” group of protesters.

“We believe neo-Nazis have failed to integrate properly into our society because they were deprived of a proper childhood,” said David Miler, an organizer of the march. “We have brought them toys so that they can play with something less dangerous and complete the process of socialization that most of us went through in kindergarten.”

But, when neo-Nazis started arriving shortly before noon, reactions to the toys were extremely mixed. Members of the female wing of the group, who arrived first, were excited about the toys and wanted to play with the jump ropes, Frisbees and teddy bears.

The men arrived and kicked toys aside, swearing angrily. Obviously, they didn’t get the joke and were badly in need of a crash course in socialization.

Instead, leaders plunged into a series of bad speeches and even worse songs.

A speaker from Germany who declined to give his name said, “In this day and age of Euro-terror from Brussels, the white power has to unite and resist Zionistic oppressors.”

This got a huge cheer from the crowd but no reaction from police officers, even though they had vowed to disperse the group of 500 neo-Nazis if racist comments were made.

When the demonstrators left on a planned march, they left the toys behind, despite promising to take them home and give them to orphans.

At 3 p.m., Social Democrats convened at the same spot as the communists. It seemed many of the participants simply stayed put for the new round of speeches.

Party Chairman Jiří Paroubek criticized the government and kept talking about issuing a “yellow card” to politicians in the upcoming Senate elections.

The ruling Civic Democrats met in Prague 1 on Petřín Hill, the traditional place for May Day lovers, where a rock band played for the young crowd.

While both parties sold sausages and beer, the Civic Democrats, despite a reputation as a hard-line capitalist party, sold food and drink for 20 Kč less than their socialist opposition.

Evening brought an anarchist concert on the island of Císařská louka, where group members did not bother with political statements, but welcomed everyone — regardless of their political beliefs, color or religion.

Families with young children listened to the music alongside punks with spiky blue hair. With plenty of beer, Fair Trade cookies and vegan hamburgers for everyone, the party lasted well into the night without any signs of conflict, defying police expectations.

Ondřej Bouda can be reached at news@praguepost.com

Be the first to add a comment!

Most e-mailed articles
Price to play U.S. passport theft increases Supply lines

Related articles
Rebooting the Hulk

Most visited in Book of Lists

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.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.