On the evening of Wednesday the 19th of March, the Connolly Youth Movement demonstrated outside the department of foreign affairs against the banning of our fraternal comrades, the Czech Communist Youth (KSM.) The picket lasted for around an hour while lots of leaflets were distributed to passersby. Letters of protest were also delivered to the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Czech Embassy in Dublin. This action was part of an international day of solidarity with the KSM as they were in court contesting the decision of the Czech Interior Ministry to ban them.
The courts unfortunately ruled against the KSM yesterday and agreed with the Interior Ministry’s decision that they should be banned because the KSM is campaigning for the abolition of private property in the Czech Republic. This is an attack on the left and a suppression of free speech, which must be resisted by all progressive people around the world.
The president of the World Federation of Democratic Youth, Tiago Vieirahas, has condemned the verdict saying “this is a tremendous attack to all democratic, progressive and communist organizations of the world, as it reinforces the oppressive character of imperialism by banning and persecuting all those who, like the KSM, oppose imperialist wills.”
The Connolly Youth Movement stands in solidarity with our international comrades the KSM and will continue to campaign against this injustice.