Communist Party's Filip warns of "fascistic tendencies"

The leader of the Communist Party Vojtech Filip has warned against what he has called "fascistic tendencies" by those in power, indicating some circles were bent on banning ideas and not defending the rights of individuals. Mr Filip was speaking at an international conference titled "Communists and other Democratic Forces for Human Rights and Democracy in Europe and the World". At the conference, the party leader also reportedly criticised a recent ban on the Communist Party's youth organisation by the Interior Ministry, and also criticised steps taken by city hall in the Moravian town of Vsetin, where rent-defaulters were moved to new facilities. The Communist Party led by Mr Filip remains the sole unreformed communist party in the former eastern bloc, criticised by many as "Neo-Stalinist".