News

German neo-Nazis are calling on their supporters to join in a march through Plzeň, western Bohemia, on January 19. The march is organized by a Czech far-right, nationalist group Narodní Odpor, or National Resistance, in protest against alleged restrictions on freedom of speech. The protesters are planning to march past Plzeň’s Great Synagogue only a day before the 66th anniversary of the first transports of local Jews to Nazi extermination camps. The police are expecting that several hundred radicals might arrive from Germany for the occasion. Meanwhile, Plzeň’s Jewish community and other Czech Jewish organisations are summoning a protest rally in front of the local Jewish house of prayer.

Czech communist leaders say they might support Jan Švejnar, the only other candidate running against incumbent Václav Klaus in the coming presidential election. In return, they expect to be invited for negotiations on the formation of a new government following next parliamentary elections, the deputy leader of the Communist Party Jiří Dolejš said. Since the fall of communism in 1989 the Communist Party has not been directly involved in government.

Pavel Minařík, a spy under former Communist Czechoslovakia, will go to court next week for an insurance fraud. His company allegedly exported scrap optic fibres to Ukraine. Once across the border, his associates burnt the cargo and reported a traffic accident instead. Between 1969 and 1976, Pavel Minařík was an elite spy working for Czechoslovak intelligence. He spent eight years undercover in Germany and worked at the Czech section of the Munich-based Radio Free Europe – Radio Liberty.

There is disagreement in the governing coalition over the possible return to cabinet of the Christian Democrats leader Jiří Čunek. Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek of the Civic Democrats said on Sunday that the matter should be resolved by the Christian Democrats and the third member of the coalition, the Greens. But Green Party leader Martin Bursík said that was impossible, adding that the prime minister could not take a disengaged position. Mr Čunek insists he be reinstated as deputy prime minister and minister for regional development, after an investigation into allegations he accepted bribes was dropped. However, while Mr Topolánek has signalled a willingness to allow Mr Čunek back into cabinet, the Greens have expressed opposition to his return. A meeting of the coalition’s leaders on Thursday failed to reach agreement on the matter.

Jiří Čunek is no stranger to controversy. Most recently he made headlines for saying Romany culture was incompatible with modern society and calling for extended Roma family networks to be broken up.