Czechs ban far-right party
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The Czech Supreme Court has banned a vocal far-right party on the grounds of extremism. The ruling makes the Czech Workers' Party, notorious for its strong anti-Roma stance, the first political party to be banned in the country since the fall of communism in 1989.
Judge Vojtech Simicek yesterday declared the Workers' Party "racist", adding that that its ideology drew on Nazi doctrines.
"It is a threat to democracy in the Czech Republic, because it wants to destroy the present political system and replace it with National-Socialist authoritarianism," he stated.
The government brought the case against the party and analysts say the court's ruling is a success for Prime Minister Jan Fischer. The preceding administration's attempt to ban the party last year failed when the court ruled there was insufficient evidence.
The verdict angered several dozen Workers' Party members, who caused a minor disturbance outside the court. But party leaders appeared to be preparing for the ruling to go against them.
Party leader Tomas Vandas was quick to announce that the party will appeal against the verdict, and also that it plans to take part in May's parliamentary election regardless, under the banner of the Workers Party of Social Justice - a sleeping party headed by his mother.
The Workers' Party has gained notoriety for its neo-Nazi ideology and its anti-Roma campaigns in the north of the country, where its members would picket Roma areas and occasionally engage in street violence.
It won just 1 percent of the vote at last May's European parliamentary elections.
Despite the party's small size - it has just 950 members - many believe was partly to blame for rise in the number of extremist crimes reported in the Czech Republic last year.
