Government to scrap plan to outlaw Communist Party

The Czech government has reportedly failed to gain enough support for a proposal to outlaw the Communist Party, which currently holds 26 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 114 seats in regional councils. The decision was confirmed by Czech Interior Minister Jan Kubice on Wednesday. A study requested by the Interior tasked a group of lawyers, criminal experts and other specialists to examine whether grounds existed to terminate the functioning of the current Communist Party. The resulting report argued that such grounds categorically do not exist at present. However, the ministry will reportedly now undertake a probe of several communist civic groups, including youth movements. At issue is whether communist ideology, which advocates the overthrowing of existing governments, does not qualify as an illegal form of extremist incitement. The ministry’s moves follow a government request last summer to look into communist activities in the country

Author: Dominik Jůn